Trump says he is looking at removing Greece ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle

Trump's remarks at the White House

On Monday, 12 October, President Donald Trump said his administration was looking at removing US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle after a series of Wall Street Journal reports about her conduct. Asked by a reporter whether he was considering firing her, Trump answered:

Well, we're looking at it. Yeah, we're not happy.

He did not give a definitive answer on whether she would stay in the post, and no final decision had been announced in the latest reporting. CNN and AP, citing sources familiar with the administration's deliberations, reported that Trump could decide within the coming days. Trump told CNN that he had only just heard about the matter, that it was a shame, and that he did not know much about it but that she had always been very nice.

The $100,000 allegation

Guilfoyle, a former Fox News presenter and California prosecutor, was chosen by Trump for the Athens post in December 2024, after her engagement to his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., ended. She arrived in Athens in November 2025. Eric Deters, a politician and businessman, says Guilfoyle asked him by text message to pay a $100,000 debt on her American Express account shortly before the Senate approved her nomination, and offered him access to administration officials in return. Deters did not send the money.

Guilfoyle's lawyers, David M. Schwartz and Jesse Binnall, said in a statement that the money was owed for conference fees and strategic communications consulting she provided in 2024 and early 2025, long before her nomination. They said Deters owes her about $150,000 and that asking for payment of accumulated fees is not a quid pro quo or corruption. They also rejected the claims about improper travel, saying all of her flights complied with State Department rules and instructions, and said they would start legal action to recover the debt.

Aktor Group and lobbying

On 25 September, the Wall Street Journal published an article describing Guilfoyle's efforts to persuade US allies in Eastern Europe to buy billions of dollars' worth of American natural gas. According to the paper, she reportedly told the people she was lobbying to work with Aktor Group, a Greek construction company that had recently entered the natural gas sector and had a partnership with a state-backed Greek energy company to import US liquefied natural gas. The Journal also reported that Aktor lobbyist Christos Marafatsos frequently accompanied her to meetings at the ambassador's official residence and with government officials in the region, and it described the presence of a private citizen at such meetings as extremely unusual. Further Journal reports, according to La Libre, included recordings in which Guilfoyle bragged about luxury trips paid for by wealthy Greek businessmen, and an outburst in January over not being on the guest list for a dinner held on the sidelines of the Davos economic forum.

Background and status

Guilfoyle has promoted her ties to Greek leaders. In February 2026 she told Breitbart that Greek leaders, including Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and several ministers, always answered her calls, even at weekends. In 2015, during the debt crisis, she made remarks about Greeks that drew controversy in Greece, according to La Libre. The affair broke during Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to Athens, where he repeatedly appeared in public with her. AP reported that a State Department inspection office is also looking at the matter, though it is not clear whether a formal investigation has begun.