Marjorie Taylor Greene has positioned herself as a champion for women's rights, criticizing the Republican Party's treatment of women and pushing for the release of Jeffrey Epstein's files. However, her support for restrictive abortion laws raises questions about the sincerity of her advocacy. Recent actions highlight tensions between her personal stance and party policies.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, who recently resigned from the House of Representatives after splitting from Donald Trump, appeared on The View earlier this month and declared that “the Republican Party has a woman problem.” This statement forms part of her effort to rebrand as an advocate for women. She collaborated with Republican Tom Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna on a campaign to compel the Department of Justice to disclose files related to Jeffrey Epstein. On November 19, the House and Senate enacted the Epstein Files Transparency Act, requiring the public release of all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials.
In December, Greene suggested inviting Epstein's victims to the Oval Office, an idea rejected by Trump. She described the files as representing “everything wrong with Washington” and viewed the issue as deeply personal. According to interviews reported by The New York Times' Robert Draper, Greene noted she had never experienced sexual abuse herself but knew women who had, allowing her to empathize with standing up to powerful men.
Greene attributed women's reluctance to vote Republican to Trump's management of the Epstein case and his mistreatment of female Congress members, stating “there’s a very big message here.” Yet, her record on women's issues shows inconsistencies. Following a June 2024 New York jury's finding that Trump sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll, Greene likened him to Jesus Christ. She remained silent on Christine Blasey Ford's allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Greene defended Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee for secretary of defense, despite a 2017 police report detailing his alleged assault on a woman, claiming “every American is safer with [Hegseth] leading.” In December 2024, after the House Ethics Committee uncovered evidence of former Representative Matt Gaetz's sexual activity with a minor, Greene posted on X that she “has proudly defended Matt Gaetz from the beginning” and “he has done nothing wrong.”
On abortion, Greene celebrated the June 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade as a “great victory for God and the unborn.” She backed Texas's 2021 Heartbeat Protection Act, which bans abortion after detecting a fetal heartbeat around five to six weeks and has been adopted in over 10 states. This law contributed to fatalities, such as Josseli Barnica's death from sepsis in 2021 after doctors delayed intervention due to legal fears, and Amber Nicole Thurman's preventable death in Georgia in 2022 from organ failure. Greene dismissed claims about Thurman's case, tweeting that Kamala Harris was “lying to women” and asserting she “died from taking abortion pills.”
While Greene's critique of Republican attitudes toward women marks a shift from her past loyalty to Trump, her endorsement of policies limiting bodily autonomy undermines her claims of advocacy.