The Briefing
- President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio are weighing the removal of U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle following multiple overlapping misconduct allegations, according to a senior U.S. official cited by the Associated Press.
- Guilfoyle is accused of asking a Trump donor to cover a $100,000 American Express debt before her Senate confirmation hearing, and of bringing a paid corporate lobbyist into official diplomatic meetings across southeastern Europe.
- The State Department's inspector general has launched a parallel inquiry into her conduct toward embassy staff, her use of private air travel, and her ties to the Greek energy and construction firm Aktor Group.
The diplomatic posting that was meant to be a prestigious reward has become a political liability. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are now weighing whether to dismiss U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, as a cascade of misconduct allegations rattles officials in Washington and Athens alike.
According to a senior U.S. official who spoke to the Associated Press, both Trump and Rubio have grown deeply frustrated over the reported conduct of the ambassador, a former Fox News host and California prosecutor who was once engaged to Donald Trump Jr. A determination on her future at the post is expected shortly following the Columbus Day holiday.
A $100,000 Debt and a Promise of Access
The financial misconduct claims surfaced in a Wall Street Journal investigation published in early October. According to the report, Guilfoyle contacted Trump donor Eric Deters and asked him to wire money directly to American Express to cover a six-figure balance she had accumulated ahead of her Senate confirmation hearing — offering him access to senior administration figures in return. Deters declined, and later told media outlets he believed her conduct was that of someone who had "done this to more than me."
Guilfoyle's legal team has pushed back forcefully. Her attorneys contend that the payment she sought from Deters reflected unpaid compensation for speaking engagements and consulting work that predated her nomination, and they have characterized his account as false. In a formal statement, they said the ambassador has served and will continue to serve with integrity, and they indicated they are exploring legal options to recover those outstanding fees.
Lobbyist at the Table: The Aktor Connection
The financial controversy sits alongside a separate and arguably more complex set of concerns about her ties to Greek commercial interests. Since late September, the Wall Street Journal has detailed how Guilfoyle brought Christos Marafatsos — a registered lobbyist for Aktor Group, a Greek infrastructure and energy conglomerate — into private diplomatic meetings with officials across southeastern Europe. His presence became so routine that some foreign counterparts assumed he was a member of the embassy's own staff.
Federal lobbying disclosures show Aktor paid Marafatsos $160,000 through June 2026. At the same time, Guilfoyle was pressing Balkan governments — including Bulgaria — to sign energy contracts with that very company. She also flew to Bulgaria on a private jet provided by Aktor's chief executive, a trip that sharpened questions about where her official duties ended and the firm's commercial ambitions began. Aktor, through its U.S. subsidiary, holds a 20-year, $6 billion agreement to supply U.S. liquefied natural gas to Albania, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2030.
Robin Brooks, who served as director for Central Europe and the Balkans at the National Security Council during the Biden administration, told the Journal that bringing a paid lobbyist into meetings with foreign governments raises a fundamental question: whether those sessions are advancing American interests or private commercial ones.
A Clash Over Dinner and a Remark That Alarmed Allies
Adding further weight to the portrait taking shape in Athens, the Journal also reported that Guilfoyle clashed openly with Greece's Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou at a March dinner. During a separate conversation at that event about the instability of Romania's government at the time, she reportedly told those present that the United States had the ability to engineer similar outcomes wherever it chose — a remark her attorney has disputed. Opposition parties in Greece have since called on Athens to formally address the ambassador's behavior.
The fallout has reached Capitol Hill. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a formal letter to Rubio demanding a full accounting of Marafatsos's attendance at official meetings, Guilfoyle's financial interests, and her use of private aircraft. Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, warned in a letter to Rubio that if the reported conduct proves accurate, Guilfoyle is "unfit to represent the United States abroad."
Rubio Refuses to Engage on Specifics — but Keeps Defending Her
The political choreography surrounding Guilfoyle has been revealing. When Rubio traveled to Athens this month — where he delivered a sweeping address on the future of Western civilization from the Pnyx hill, the ancient Athenian assembly ground with the Acropolis lit up behind him — he called Guilfoyle "a strong ambassador" and said the embassy was doing "a great job" at a joint news conference with the Greek foreign minister.
A day later, when fresh reporting on the credit-card allegations emerged, Rubio drew a sharper line. He told reporters gathered at the airport tarmac that he would not treat news sourcing as "the gospel" and refused to address the specific claims he said he could not verify. The shift stopped short of withdrawing his general support for her, but the public silence on the substance of the allegations has carried its own weight.
Trump, pressed by reporters outside the White House, described the situation as "too bad" while declining to offer any direct endorsement of the ambassador — a studied non-response that struck many observers as significant.
Inspector General Opens Probe as the Post Hangs in the Balance
The State Department's inspector general has now launched a parallel investigation into the allegations, examining her treatment of embassy personnel, her use of private travel, her close relationship with Aktor, and broader questions about gift acceptance. The ambassador assumed the post in November 2025 following the end of her engagement to Donald Trump Jr., which was called off in late 2024. That posting — viewed by some in Washington as a consolation appointment — may now be approaching an abrupt close.
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