White House Asks U.S. Ambassador to Greece Guilfoyle to Resign; Trump Cites Displeasure as She Denies Allegations
WASHINGTON — The White House confirmed on October 13 that it has asked Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, to resign. White House press secretary Katie Zacharia announced the decision at the first briefing she has chaired, saying the White House had asked Guilfoyle to resign and wishing her well, according to Reuters.
The move had been telegraphed a day earlier. On October 12, President Donald Trump told reporters he was considering removing Guilfoyle and said the administration was not happy with what it had seen. Questioned again on October 13, Trump said he did not like what he had read and had not spoken with her personally, CNN reported. Over the weekend, the Associated Press had quoted a senior U.S. official as saying Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were extremely angry about a mounting series of reports on Guilfoyle's conduct and would likely decide her future this week.
In a lengthy statement on X, Guilfoyle said her time as ambassador may be coming to an end but called the allegations false, saying she would vigorously defend her name and integrity, and that her commitment to Trump and the America First movement would never end. The U.S. Embassy in Athens did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, and Reuters said it was not immediately clear whether she had formally resigned.
The turmoil stems from a series of Wall Street Journal reports since late September alleging that, before her Senate confirmation, Guilfoyle asked a Trump donor to pay a credit-card bill of about $100,000 in return for access to administration figures; that she pressured host-country officials and accepted gifts and perks from Greek businessmen; and that she brought a lobbyist for a Greek construction company into official meetings. U.S. lawmakers had previously raised concerns that she may have threatened to use U.S. influence to undermine the Greek government.
Guilfoyle's lawyers have denied any wrongdoing, saying the money she sought from the donor was unpaid compensation for public appearances and speaking engagements that predated her nomination, and that her travel followed State Department rules and her gift reporting was compliant.
The timing is delicate for Athens: only a week earlier, Rubio was in the Greek capital co-chairing the sixth U.S.–Greece Strategic Dialogue alongside Guilfoyle and publicly calling her a strong ambassador. Her departure would leave the ambassador's post in Athens vacant. Greece is a key NATO ally hosting U.S. forces at Souda Bay and other facilities, and it leads an EU maritime mission protecting commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
Sources: Compiled from Reuters and CNN reporting of October 13, 2026.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国驻希腊大使金伯莉·吉尔福伊尔官方肖像。图片：美国国务院，公共领域，来源：Wikimedia Commons（File:Kimberly Guilfoyle Official Portrait scaled.jpg）
- 2026-10-13White House Asks U.S. Ambassador to Greece Guilfoyle to Resign; Trump Cites Displeasure as She Denies AllegationsThis story
- 2026-10-13White House Asks Ambassador to Greece Guilfoyle to Resign, Announced at New Press Secretary's First Briefing
