President Trump is weighing firing Kimberly Guilfoyle as ambassador to Greece after reports of pay-to-play schemes and staff mistreatment put her on thin ice.
President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are considering removing Kimberly Guilfoyle from her post in Athens after a run of reports alleged she leveraged the job for personal gain and mistreated staff, sources close to the administration say.
The Associated Press first flagged that Trump and Rubio were weighing the move. A White House spokesperson would not confirm any decision. Still, people near the West Wing describe real anger and an active look at replacements.
Guilfoyle, a former fiancée of Donald Trump Jr. and the ex-wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, now faces the kind of scrutiny that ends ambassadorships. The question is whether the alleged conduct crosses the line for a president who expects loyalty paired with discipline.
A source close to the White House told the New York Post that Guilfoyle is “on very thin ice” while Trump deliberates.
"on very thin ice"
An administration source said senior officials are “pissed off” and “looking to replace her.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that ahead of her Senate confirmation hearing, Guilfoyle asked a donor to cover a $100,000 credit card bill in exchange for favors. She also boasted that Greek tycoons had paid for her travel and, in one reported pitch for access, said she would deliver big returns.
"I’m going to make you a lot of f, ing money"
Fox News reported additional detail from that Journal account: the donor was Eric Deters, the bill was an American Express balance, and the request included wiring the money in a way that would avoid a clear paper trail while offering access to senior officials. Deters said he never paid.
Guilfoyle’s attorneys pushed back hard on the framing. They cast the episode as a collection effort, not a bribe.
"That is what Mr. Deters now calls a ‘quid pro quo’: a delinquent client being asked to pay an overdue bill," Guilfoyle’s attorneys said.
That dispute sits at the center of the storm. One side describes a classic pay-to-play ask. Her lawyers describe a bill collector. Trump and Rubio now have to decide which version matches the facts they see.
The Daily Mail reported an internal State Department investigation into what it called a “tyrannical” tenure in Athens, including alleged mistreatment of staff. Fox News reported that the department’s inspector general opened a review covering treatment of embassy employees, private travel, gifts, and business relationships.
Those are not small-bore complaints. An ambassador speaks for the United States. When staff say they were abused, and when travel and gifts enter the picture, the department has a duty to examine the record. Democrats have also called for a review and possible removal if the claims hold up.
None of the reporting says the inspector general has issued final findings. The open questions remain basic: what happened on the ground in Athens, who paid for what, and whether official access was dangled for private relief.
People close to the process describe more than idle gossip. Fox News reported that Trump and Rubio are “extremely pissed off” by the conduct described and are weighing removal, with a decision possible this week, citing the Associated Press and a senior official.
A third person close to Trump struck a darker comic note about her odds inside the building.
"If she survives this, she’s officially beaten ‘Trump World’ in legendary mode, defeated the final boss and unlocked an achievement no previous player thought was possible," he joked.
Jokes aside, the structure is clear. The president and his secretary of state are the decision-makers. The White House will not confirm the deliberations. Sources say the option of firing her is real.
Guilfoyle’s path to the post already mixed politics and personal history. She was a high-profile Trump world figure before Athens. That history does not exempt anyone from rules on gifts, staff conduct, or using the office as a personal ledger. If anything, it raises the standard.
No final order has been announced. The spokesperson’s refusal to confirm leaves daylight between rumor and action. The inspector general’s timeline and findings are not public in the available reporting. The donor episode is sharply contested by Guilfoyle’s legal team. Specific staff incidents beyond the broad allegations are not laid out in full in these accounts.
Even so, the core sequence is not complicated. Reports of a six-figure bailout ask, boasts about private money and access, and a workplace probe landed on the president’s desk. He and Rubio are treating them as grounds to consider removal.
Ambassadors do not get a free pass because they know the family. When the claims involve money, access, and the people who keep an embassy running, the clean move is to examine the file and decide. That is the job.
