White House has asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as US ambassador to Greece
White House has asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as US ambassador to Greece
Kimberly Guilfoyle, the embattled US ambassador to Greece, has been asked to resign from her position after a string of reports about alleged misconduct, marking a sudden and spectacular downfall for a high-profile figure in the MAGA movement with close ties to President Donald Trump’s family.
New press secretary Katie Zacharia confirmed in her first press briefing Tuesday that the White House had “asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign,” adding, “She has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her luck.”
Questioned by reporters later about the move, Trump was less laudatory of Guilfoyle.
“I didn’t like what I read,” he said, adding that he had not spoken with Guilfoyle personally.
In a lengthy post on X, Guilfoyle acknowledged her time “may be coming to an end,” while disputing the recent allegations against her.
“I intend to vigorously defend my name, my reputation, and my integrity,” she wrote.
Guilfoyle’s ouster comes following reports that she sought money in exchange for providing access to administration figures before she was confirmed to her position, accepted lavish gifts as ambassador and brought a lobbyist for a Greek construction company into official meetings. Lawyers for Guilfoyle have denied the allegations about seeking money and said reports about her travel were misleading, adding that she complied with federal gift and reporting requirements.
While administration officials had signaled public discomfort with Guilfoyle’s alleged misconduct since the reports first emerged, she appeared reluctant to resign throughout the weekend and had been working to rally support among some administration officials, people familiar with the matter said. Even before the allegations first became public, she began reaching out to allies in and around the administration, asking for help navigating the impending story, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Guilfoyle had initially told some allies in the administration that the reporting was inaccurate, and her lawyers later claimed she was seeking to recoup debts when she asked a Trump donor to pay off a $100,000 American Express bill. Guilfoyle insisted that the donor was lying and that it was all a misunderstanding — claiming that the donor owed her money and it was not “pay-for-play.” Going into the weekend, she told allies that she would not resign, and claimed that she had been told she would not be fired, two sources told CNN.
But her efforts did little to tamp down on frustrations about the reports, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in particular was eager to see her gone, the people familiar said.
“She was basically fired on live TV,” one source said.
Eric Deters, a former Trump donor, said Guilfoyle asked him in a text message to wire her $100,000 to pay off an American Express card in the days before her Senate confirmation. She said she would be his “ride or die” in the Trump administration if he did it, Deters said.
“No question it was a quid pro quo,” Deters told CNN’s Jake Tapper last week.
Deters did not wire Guilfoyle the money, saying he didn’t have the liquid assets at the time.
Lawyers for Guilfoyle said in a statement to CNN that Deters owed Guilfoyle money for speeches and consulting work and called his statements false.
“When Ms. Guilfoyle was preparing to leave private life for public service, she did what any professional does and tried to close out her outstanding receivables. Asking a client to pay for work already done is not corruption. It is the opposite of corruption,” her lawyers wrote.
In her post on X, Guilfoyle similarly said the allegations against her were “false.”
“I have dedicated my professional life to fighting for justice, standing up for what is right, and defending the values that make America exceptional,” she wrote. “I will not allow false accusations to define my decades of public service.”
Guilfoyle was engaged for four years to the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. – though the president said Tuesday she “wasn’t a member of my family” and only “dated my son a long time ago.” After she and Donald Trump Jr.’s split, she was tapped to serve as ambassador to Greece and took on the role in September 2025. The president confirmed Monday he was considering dismissing Guilfoyle.
“We’re looking at it — yeah. We’re not happy,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House.
Rubio was traveling to Greece when the reports of her alleged “pay for play” scheme were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Guilfoyle attended multiple events with Rubio, and at the time he refused to comment on the reports. The Journal earlier reported on her alleged promotion of a Greek energy firm for regional energy deals.
During the trip to Athens, Rubio praised Guilfoyle as a “strong ambassador here” and rebuffed questions about the reports of her misconduct.
“You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel. It’s not the gospel. It’s not the gospel for me. That’s not the way we do things,” Rubio said before he boarded his plane to leave the country, with Guilfoyle looking on.
But privately, one source familiar with the matter said, Rubio expressed annoyance that Guilfoyle seemed intent on appearing at every event alongside him.
The reports triggered questions and calls for investigations from Democrats on Capitol Hill. Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called for Guilfoyle to come before the committee and said that “it must be determined whether Ambassador Guilfoyle solicited funds from any other source.”
Following Tuesday’s announcement that Guilfoyle had been asked to resign, the House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats noted that “resigning does not shield her from accountability.
“Guilfoyle used her position as a Trump official to get rich, while American families struggle with the cost of living,” the committee wrote on X. “Congress must conduct oversight to understand how this happened and hold the admin accountable.”
The State Department’s Office of the Inspector General is investigating Guilfoyle amid the misconduct allegations, according to source familiar with the effort.
“As a matter of policy, OIG does not confirm, deny, or comment on investigative matters,” an inspector general spokesperson said.
It is unclear what will happen with the investigation following her ouster. According to a source familiar with the workings of inspector general offices, it may depend on whether the Department of Justice opens an investigation into her alleged misconduct. If not, the State Department inspector general may continue its work, but its findings could take a year or so to complete.
By CNN
