Kimberly Guilfoyle has left her post as U.S. ambassador to Greece after the Trump administration pressed her to step down over allegations of misconduct. The departure was among the biggest developments of a busy political day in Washington.
Administration Announces the Request
New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia said during her first briefing that the administration had asked Guilfoyle to resign. Later in the day, NBC News reported that Guilfoyle had done so while an ethics investigation was under way. Just before that, the Financial Times reported that President Donald Trump had said he was considering removing her.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he believed Guilfoyle had been doing a good job in Athens. He added that he did not like what he had been reading about her.
The Allegations
The controversy centers on claims by Eric Deters, a Trump donor, who came forward earlier this month. He says Guilfoyle asked him to cover a $100,000 balance on her American Express card in the days before her 2025 Senate confirmation hearing. In his account, the payment would have been exchanged for access to senior figures in the administration. He told NBC News she had effectively offered him whatever he wanted within Trump’s orbit.
NBC News said it had not independently verified the allegations. The network also reported, citing two people familiar with the matter, that the State Department’s inspector general’s office had been looking into Guilfoyle’s conduct.
The Associated Press, citing a senior U.S. official, reported that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were furious about the reports surrounding her.
A Longtime Presence in Trump’s Circle
Guilfoyle, 57, is a former Fox News host and was a prominent surrogate for Trump’s campaigns. She spent years close to the president’s family. She was in a relationship with Donald Trump Jr. from 2018 until late 2024, and the two were engaged for nearly four years. Earlier in her life, she was married to Gavin Newsom, now California’s governor, from 2001 to 2006, when he was mayor of San Francisco. She later married businessman Eric Villency, and they had a son before divorcing in 2009.
Political Backdrop
The resignation came as Trump was heading to a rally in Wasilla, Alaska, to boost Republican candidates ahead of the November midterm elections. It also landed on the day Zacharia took over the White House podium, giving her an early test. She used much of her debut briefing to list the president’s accomplishments and took only a handful of questions.
For the administration, the episode adds an ethics headache at a sensitive moment in the campaign season. It also leaves the ambassador’s post in Athens open. No successor was named in the reports reviewed.
Source: NBC News
