Trump's ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, resigns after
allegations of improper conduct
[October 14, 2026]
By MATTHEW LEE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House publicly asked for U.S. Ambassador to
Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle's resignation on Tuesday as she faced mounting
accusations of improper conduct, and she announced within two hours that
she was quitting, ending days of talk and speculation about her
professional fate. Guilfoyle insisted that she would “vigorously defend”
herself.
President Donald Trump's administration had said earlier Tuesday it had
asked Guilfoyle to leave her post after she faced severe criticism over
allegations she engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before
and during her tenure in Athens.
That revelation came in response to a question to freshly minted White
House press secretary Katie Zacharia at her first media briefing Tuesday
morning. Zacharia said Guilfoyle “has been a wonderful asset to the
team, and we wish her well.”
"She went to Greece. She was doing a good job, but we didn’t like what
we were reading," Trump said just after Guilfoyle's resignation, which
was posted on her X account. He said he had not spoken to her but "she
will not be there.”
Guilfoyle’s departure comes after its possibility was previewed to The
Associated Press over the weekend and Trump registered his unhappiness
on Monday at reports about her alleged conduct. Those comments came a
day after the AP, citing a senior U.S. official, reported that Trump and
Secretary of State Marco Rubio were “extremely pissed off” by
Guilfoyle’s reported conduct.
Guilfoyle denies the accusations and cites her ‘decades of public
service’
In a series of stories dating to late last month, The Wall Street
Journal has reported questionable conduct by Guilfoyle, including an
alleged threat to a host country official, accepting improper gifts and
services and offering to use her influence inside the Republican
administration in return for the payment of a large credit card bill.
Guilfoyle addressed the accusations directly in her resignation post on
X, saying, “These allegations are false, and I intend to vigorously
defend my name, my reputation, and my integrity.”
“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 said. “I will not allow false accusations to define my
decades of public service.”
In a statement released late Sunday, Guilfoyle's lawyers denied that she
had done anything wrong and claimed that the money she was seeking from
a Trump donor was payment for services — public appearances and speaking
engagements that predate her ambassadorial nomination — that had not
been paid.
The lawyers, David Schwartz and Jesse Binnall, also rejected allegations
of impropriety related to Guilfoyle’s travel on private planes, saying
that before every such trip she “sought, obtained and followed State
Department guidance and followed the Department’s travel regulations."
They did not immediately return calls Tuesday.
The allegations began surfacing weeks ago
After defending Guilfoyle following the first report, Rubio declined to
comment publicly on the growing allegations. Last week, Rubio said: “Our
ambassador has been a strong ambassador here.”
But after another report appeared later, Rubio — speaking Thursday
before leaving Athens — berated journalists for asking about the
allegations. He said that he didn’t know if they were true and that he
would not respond if he could not confirm them.
“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
at the foot of his plane as Guilfoyle, who was there to see him depart,
looked on.
A second U.S. official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to
discuss personnel matters, said the State Department’s inspector general
was looking into the allegations, which first began surfacing in the
Journal late last month and have since multiplied.
The second official could not say if a formal IG probe had begun.
Inspectors general often conduct informal inquiries into complaints
against staffers, and many times those inquiries do not result in a
full-on investigation, which can result in disciplinary action up to and
including dismissal. The State Department has declined to comment on a
potential IG investigation.
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Kimberly Guilfoyle speaks as President Donald Trump listens at
a reception celebrating Greek Independence Day in the East Room of
the White House, March 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn
Martin, File)
There was no immediate response to Zacharia's statement from the
Greek government or Cabinet members.
Ahead of Tuesday’s announcement, Greek opposition parties had called
on the Foreign Ministry to summon Guilfoyle to respond to the
allegations made against her. “This, most importantly, is an issue
of national dignity,” Sia Anagnostopoulou, a former deputy foreign
minister, said in parliament Friday. Foreign Minister Giorgos
Gerapetritis responded that Guilfoyle had been treated “the same way
as every other ambassador” and argued that an official summons had
not been necessary.
Hours earlier, Guilfoyle had posted photos of her meeting this week
with the Spanish ambassador to Athens as well as birthday wishes for
Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law, accompanied by Dua
Lipa’s “Dance the Night,” from the 2023 soundtrack of the movie
“Barbie.”
Greece has taken on an increasingly important and influential role
because of its geographic location in Southeastern Europe and the
Eastern Mediterranean, particularly on energy issues as the war with
Iran has spiked global oil prices. Besides the vast number of
Greek-registered oil tankers that regularly ply the Strait of Hormuz
and the Red Sea, Greece is well positioned to be a pipeline conduit
for liquefied natural gas imports into the Balkans and beyond.
As the U.S. ambassador to Greece, Guilfoyle had put an emphasis on
energy issues, although her close association with executives in
that sector was part of what got her into trouble.
Democrats call for an investigation
The top two Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs and Senate
Foreign Relations committees, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York and
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, as well as the ranking member
on the House Committee for Oversight and Government Reform, Rep.
Robert Garcia, D-Calif., have already called for an investigation
into Guilfoyle.
Since late September, the Journal has detailed numerous accounts of
questionable conduct by Guilfoyle. Its first report said that she
had told guests at a reception that the United States could
undermine the Greek government if it chose to, promoted the business
interests of one particular Greek construction and energy company
and allowed its lobbyist into private diplomatic meetings.
While Rubio was in Athens, the Journal reported — citing text
messages — that Guilfoyle had asked a Trump donor and supporter to
pay a $100,000 credit card bill just before her confirmation
hearing, promising him access to administration officials if he did.
The Journal then reported that Guilfoyle had been enraged about not
being invited to a Greek-themed event at the World Economic Forum in
Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year and demanded to attend while
boasting about luxury travel to France with energy company
executives.
Another report, from the British tabloid The Daily Mail, said that
Guilfoyle had alienated staff at the U.S. Embassy in Athens and had
pushed the bounds of behavior appropriate for the top representative
of the U.S. government to Greece.
Guilfoyle is a former Fox News Channel host and California
prosecutor who was married to Democrat Gavin Newsom when he was San
Francisco's mayor, before he became California's governor. She later
was engaged to Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr.
___
AP journalists Derek Gatopoulos in Athens and Darlene Superville at
the White House contributed.
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