BREAKING: The White House asks Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as US ambassador in Athens

The White House has formally asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as US ambassador to Greece. The decision was announced on Tuesday, October 13 by the new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, in her first briefing to reporters. “We asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign. She has been an outstanding member of the team and we wish her every success,” Zacharia said, as reported by the Associated Press.

The development came just one day after Donald Trump, asked whether he would remove her, answered “We’re looking at it, we’re not happy”, as Geopolitiki reported. As of this writing it has not been announced that Guilfoyle has submitted her resignation, nor who will take over the embassy in Athens.

The allegations that brought her down

The request for her resignation follows a series of Wall Street Journal reports since late September. The heaviest allegation concerns the period before her Senate confirmation in 2025: Trump donor Eric Deters claims that Guilfoyle asked him to pay off a $100,000 American Express credit card bill, offering in return access to senior administration officials. He says he did not pay.

For Greece, the reports about her term in Athens matter most. According to the Associated Press, the reports say she told reception guests that the US could undermine the Greek government if it wanted to, that she promoted the business interests of a specific Greek construction and energy company by allowing its lobbyist to attend private diplomatic meetings, and that she accepted gifts and services such as trips on private aircraft. The Journal also wrote that she boasted of relations with Greek tycoons who allegedly financed luxury trips for her, citing an audio recording.

Two people familiar with the decision told NBC that the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General is investigating the ambassador. The State Department declined to comment. In Congress, Democrats Gregory Meeks, Jeanne Shaheen and Robert Garcia had asked for an investigation.

From support to removal

Only last week Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were defending her. Rubio, who was in Athens at the start of October, rebuked reporters who asked him about the allegations, saying that what is written on the basis of anonymous sources “is not gospel”. The AP then quoted a senior US official saying that Trump and Rubio were extremely displeased with the conduct attributed to her.

Guilfoyle’s lawyers, David Schwartz and Jesse Binnall, reject every accusation. They argue that the money she asked of Deters was payment for speeches before her appointment, which he denies, and that before every trip she requested and followed the State Department’s guidance. “Ambassador Guilfoyle has served and will continue to serve with integrity, honour and discretion,” they say.

A former Fox News host and California prosecutor, Guilfoyle had begun her path to Athens with a positive stance towards Greece at her Senate hearing. Until a new ambassador is appointed, which requires a White House nomination and Senate approval, the embassy in Athens is expected to operate under a chargé d’affaires.