Secretary of State Marco Rubio spent part of this week in Greece, delivering remarks with the Acropolis rising behind him. When reporters pressed him Thursday about the U.S. ambassador stationed there, he offered little.
“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,” Rubio told reporters.
Three days later, The Associated Press reported that Rubio and President Donald Trump are considering removing that ambassador, Kimberly Guilfoyle.
A senior U.S. official told the AP both men are “extremely pissed off” over her reported conduct.
The official said a decision will likely come this week, after Monday’s Columbus Day holiday. No one has confirmed a departure.
Rubio struck a warmer note a day before his Thursday remarks. “Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal set the latest chain of events in motion.
The newspaper reported that Guilfoyle asked Trump donor Eric Deters to pay off a $100,000 American Express bill shortly before her Senate confirmation hearing.
The Journal reviewed messages in which Guilfoyle urged Deters to wire the money directly to American Express.
According to the paper, she said the transaction would leave no paper trail and offered to help him gain access to senior Trump administration officials.
Deters said he never made the payment. Guilfoyle’s attorney, Jesse Binnall, disputed the authenticity of the messages.
That report followed an earlier Journal investigation into her work in Athens. The paper reported that Guilfoyle promoted the interests of Aktor Group, a Greek construction and energy company.
The Journal also reported that she allowed Aktor’s registered lobbyist, Christos Marafatsos, to accompany her to private diplomatic meetings with senior officials.
At a dinner with Greek officials, the Journal reported, Guilfoyle suggested the United States would undermine the Greek government, citing political developments in Romania.
Greece’s foreign minister has since said Athens saw no need to summon her for an explanation, because the country’s energy minister denied anyone made a threat.
A federal review may also be underway. The Daily Mail reported that the State Department’s Office of Inspector General opened an investigation into allegations involving her treatment of embassy employees, private travel, acceptance of gifts and relationships with business interests. The inspector general’s office declined to confirm or deny the investigation exists.
Sources described a hostile workplace to the Daily Mail. They alleged Guilfoyle threatened to fire employees and demoted members of her security detail over minor incidents.
One example they cited: an officer who reportedly failed to answer a 4 a.m. request for ice while she vacationed in Mykonos.
Binnall responded to the Daily Mail with a statement: “any implication of wrongdoing by the Ambassador is unsupported.”
Congressional Democrats have called for scrutiny.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., urged a review of Guilfoyle’s conduct.
Meeks said she should be removed if the allegations are substantiated.
Vice President JD Vance addressed the controversy Friday in Ohio. He urged against rushing to judgment while acknowledging that misconduct should carry consequences.
“Let’s actually see what the facts are. Let’s see what the truth is,” Vance told reporters. “And obviously, if there was something bad that happened, then people have to suffer consequences for it.”
Trump nominated Guilfoyle for the Athens post in December 2024.
She is a former California prosecutor and Fox News Channel personality who served as a prominent surrogate and fundraiser for the president.
She was engaged to Donald Trump Jr. for four years.
The couple publicly split in December 2024, the same month of her nomination. Trump Jr. married Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson in May.
