Trump removes special envoy Paolo Zampolli after months-long email feud with deputy secretary Landau
The State Department's special envoy for global partnerships was notified on Thursday, 15 October, hours after Politico reported his dispute with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. An official said his assignment was revoked and that he is no longer a government employee.
Removal notified on Thursday
Donald Trump has removed Paolo Zampolli from his post as special envoy for global partnerships at the State Department, a role he held as a personal friend of the president. Sources cited by ABC said Zampolli was notified of the decision on Thursday, 15 October. An official quoted by Politico confirmed the dismissal, saying the envoy assignment had been revoked and that Zampolli is no longer a government employee. In a statement, Zampolli said that serving the president and the United States had been the greatest honor of his life, and he thanked Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the wider team.
A months-long email dispute
The removal came a few hours after Politico published an account of a feud that had run for months between Zampolli and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. The emails, spanning almost a year, centered on the chain of command: Landau urged Zampolli to keep to his remit of cultural diplomacy, but the exchanges turned into bitter arguments and unsupported accusations, including allegations of leaks to the media and threats of defamation suits. In a message dated 14 November 2025, Landau ordered Zampolli to stop immediately any activity not directly linked to cultural diplomacy. Open reported that Landau feared unauthorized and potentially illegal commercial initiatives and warned of disciplinary action up to dismissal. Several reports say more than a dozen officials were copied on the exchanges, with Il Messaggero counting at least 16 in some emails, and La Stampa named Dan Scavino, the head of presidential personnel, as one of them.
- Landau emails Zampolli ordering him to stop activity outside cultural diplomacy
- Politico publishes an account of the months-long email dispute
- Zampolli is notified that his envoy assignment is revoked, according to ABC sources
Zampolli's account
Zampolli told Politico that Landau had been against him from the start and had tried to destroy everything he had done, and that only the president could give him the role or take it away. In a brief phone interview he said he was not at all surprised by the removal after the article appeared. On X, he wrote that his appointment was for one year and that Trump had extended it by more than six months. He also recounted that Trump had asked him why he wanted to work for the government when he could close all these deals, and said Trump had years earlier drawn him into the real estate business. Zampolli, a former modelling agent, is known for introducing Melania to Trump and sat on the Kennedy Center board during Trump's first term, Open reported.
Context at the State Department
The removal is the second abrupt exit from the State Department in a few days, following that of Kimberly Guilfoyle, the US ambassador to Greece and a former partner of Donald Trump Jr. ANSA reports she was forced to resign under White House pressure after corruption accusations surfaced while Secretary Rubio was in Athens. In the months before his removal, Zampolli had suggested that Italy be admitted to the 2026 World Cup in place of Iran, according to ANSA. In his statement, Zampolli said he was grateful to the president and was turning to business, building relationships and concluding deals.
