President Donald Trump asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as United States ambassador to Greece on October 13, 2026, following mounting scrutiny over allegations that she pressured a Republican donor to help pay a six-figure American Express credit card bill.
The Text Messages and the American Express Bill
The controversy surrounding the ambassador began to build after a series of text messages surfaced, first reported by the Wall Street Journal and reviewed by the BBC. The communications show Guilfoyle repeatedly reaching out to Eric Deters, a long-time Trump donor and former congressional candidate, ahead of her Senate confirmation hearing in July 2025.
I was honored to speak at this year’s Delphi Economic Forum, highlighting how United States–Greece cooperation is delivering results across energy, defense, maritime, and economic sectors and beyond, bringing our nations closer than ever. Our relationship is grounded in shared… pic.twitter.com/Grst7ypmfk
In the messages, Guilfoyle urged Deters to assist in clearing an American Express credit card balance amounting to $100,000, according to financial figures and reporting from UnHerd. Honey please I need you to get this done for me today,
she wrote in one message sent on July 3, 2025.
At the same time, the President’s son-in-law Jared Kushner serves as an uncompensated negotiator for the Trump Administration while also heading Affinity Partners, an investment firm receiving nearly all of its funding from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern nations. When there are consequences for Trump family members’ overreach, they tend toward the minimum.
In another message, she sought to ease potential paper trail concerns, writing that it would not show up anywhere if money was wired directly to American Express. She also advised Deters on Signal to avoid standard messaging platforms, warning that traditional digital paper trails were dangerous.
In a post on X, Kimberly Guilfoyle stated that she intended to vigorously defend her name, her reputation, and her integrity, and would not allow false accusations to define her decades of public service.
Legal representation for Guilfoyle disputed the authenticity of the messages in statements to the media, asserting that the funds requested were meant to cover legitimate speaking fees and consulting work previously conducted for Deters. Deters ultimately declined to make the payment, telling her that doing so without getting a divorce was impossible.
The White House Response and Trump Administration Departures
The administration moved quickly to distance itself from the outgoing diplomat. During her first and unusually short press briefing on October 13, 2026, newly appointed White House press secretary Katie Zacharia announced that Guilfoyle had been asked to step down.
President Trump addressed reporters shortly after the announcement. She wasn’t a member of my family,
Trump said, adding, I guess she dated my son a long time ago.
He noted that while she had previously performed well, he had disliked what he read in recent reports.
Guilfoyle’s departure aligns with a broader pattern during Trump’s second term, which has seen half of his eight high-level female officials leave their posts through resignation or termination, according to an analysis by The Guardian. Previous departures include former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who exited in March following controversies over federal immigration enforcement and a $220 million ad campaign, and former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who stepped down in April following an inspector general investigation. She was succeeded as DHS secretary by Markwayne Mullin. Following her was Pam Bondi, a Trump supporter and former attorney general who was ousted in April following a tumultuous 14-month tenure marked by the president’s growing discontent regarding her handling of the long-delayed Department of Justice release of the Epstein records. Her deputy, Todd Blanche, assumed the role in August. Additionally, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick drew public attention after disclosures surfaced regarding his historical connections to Jeffrey Epstein and his travels to the private island.
Diplomatic Vacancies at the Athens Embassy and Regional Energy Stakes
Guilfoyle’s exit leaves the United States embassy in Athens vacant at a time when diplomatic staffing levels are already severely strained. Out of 196 total overseas missions, 93 U.S. ambassador positions are currently unfilled globally.
The diplomatic vacancy in Greece carries specific geopolitical weight because of regional energy infrastructure projects. The embassy has served as a key hub for promoting the Vertical Corridor framework, an initiative backed by the United States and European partners to replace Russian gas imports with U.S. liquefied natural gas flowing north through the Balkan states toward Ukraine.
Greek commentary and regional analysts have raised questions about whether commercial rivalries between competing American LNG interests played a role in the political pressure surrounding the ambassador. While ventures involving companies such as Venture Global have worked to supply gas through the Greek import terminals, no public evidence indicates that foreign authorities or external corporate lobbying directed the removal of the ambassador.