Trump Says He Is Considering Firing Kimberly Guilfoyle as U.S. Ambassador to Greece
President Donald Trump said Monday he is weighing whether to fire Kimberly Guilfoyle as ambassador to Greece, following reports that she asked a donor to pay a $100,000 American Express bill before her confirmation hearing. The State Department's Office of Inspector General is investigating the allegations.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday he is considering firing Kimberly Guilfoyle as U.S. ambassador to Greece, the clearest sign yet that her job is in jeopardy after weeks of misconduct allegations.
“Well, we’re looking at it. Yeah, we’re not happy,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for a campaign event, when asked whether he might dismiss Guilfoyle over potential ethics violations.
The allegations trace back to a Wall Street Journal report published Oct. 7, which said Guilfoyle sent text messages to Republican donor Eric Deters on July 3, 2025, days before her Senate confirmation hearing, asking him to pay $100,000 toward her American Express bill. Deters said he never made the payment. The newspaper also reported that a recording captured Guilfoyle saying Greek businessmen were paying for her travels and were “pleading for an invite to an event with Eric Trump.”
A lawyer for Guilfoyle disputed the authenticity of the messages and said Deters owed her money for prior event appearances. Her attorneys have denied the misconduct allegations and said she complied with federal gift and reporting requirements.
Fallout inside the administration
Trump’s comments followed a difficult week for Guilfoyle’s standing. Vice President JD Vance told a reporter on Oct. 8, “Obviously, I don’t love that,” when asked about the reports, and the next day cautioned against judging her in the court of public opinion before the facts were known. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to address the allegations during his trip to Greece last week, and a senior administration official told the Associated Press that Trump and Rubio were furious about the reports and would decide Guilfoyle’s fate after Monday’s Columbus Day holiday.
CNN reported that the State Department’s Office of Inspector General is investigating Guilfoyle over the allegations. The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee pledged in early October to investigate and push for her removal if the reports proved accurate.
A turnaround for a former family insider
Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host and the former fiancee of Donald Trump Jr., was confirmed as ambassador in September 2025. As recently as March, Trump publicly embraced her at a Greek Independence Day event at the White House, telling her, “I heard they love you over there.”
Deters has since gone on the attack. On an MSNOW appearance Oct. 8, he said Guilfoyle’s request for $100,000 amounted to “a quid pro quo” and called her a “grifter.” Deters also said he had paid Guilfoyle $300,000 over several years to appear at his Freedom Fest events in Northern Kentucky, according to the Journal’s reporting.
Reporting based on coverage by USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, CNN and the Associated Press.
