Kimberly Guilfoyle resigns as ambassador to Greece after the White House asks her to go

Kimberly Guilfoyle is out as the U.S. ambassador to Greece. The White House said on Tuesday that it had asked her to step aside after a week of damaging reports about her conduct. Less than two hours later she posted her resignation online while insisting that every accusation against her is untrue.

A short first briefing

The news came from Katie Zacharia, who held her first briefing as White House press secretary on Tuesday morning. Asked about the envoy, she said the administration had requested that Guilfoyle resign. Zacharia praised her as "a wonderful asset to the team" and offered no further detail.

The session lasted about 14 minutes. Zacharia spent more than half of it reading a list of what the White House counts as its wins and then took only a handful of questions.

President Donald Trump told reporters later in the day that Guilfoyle had been doing a good job in Athens but that she would no longer serve there. "I didn't like what I read," he said. He added that he had not talked with her before the request was made and that, although she once dated his son, she was not like family.

Guilfoyle says the claims are false

In her post Guilfoyle called the job "the honor of a lifetime" and thanked the president and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. She wrote that the allegations are false and that she plans to "vigorously defend" her name and reputation. She also said she would not let what she called false accusations define her decades in public service.

What she was accused of

The pressure built after a newspaper reported text messages that appear to show Guilfoyle pressing Eric Deters, a longtime Trump backer, to cover a $100,000 American Express balance. One message was dated a few days before her Senate confirmation hearing in July 2025. Her lawyers have questioned whether the messages are genuine. They say any money she sought was owed to her for speeches and consulting she did for Deters before she took the post.

Deters says that account is a "complete lie." He says he never sent her the money and plans to sue her. After the resignation he called it a great day for American diplomacy.

Other reports described recordings in which Guilfoyle boasted that wealthy Greek businessmen paid for luxury trips and private jet flights. She also reportedly told an official in Athens that the United States could bring down the Greek government. The State Department's inspector general has been looking at whether she accepted gifts or favors from private businessmen.

From cable news to Athens

Guilfoyle is 57. She is a former Fox News host and was once married to Gavin Newsom, now the governor of California. She later became engaged to Donald Trump Jr. in 2018 and that relationship ended in 2024. Trump named her as his pick for Greece in December 2024.

Rubio appeared beside her in Athens just last week and reportedly grew frustrated as the claims kept coming. The White House has not said who will lead the embassy next.