U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C) and U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle stand at Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport near Athens, Greece, before Rubio boards a plane , Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are considering firing Washington’s Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle after a series of reports alleging she has engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens, the Associated Press reported on Oct. 11.
A senior U.S. official said that Trump and Rubio are “extremely pissed off” by Guilfoyle’s reported conduct and would likely decide on what action to take this week after the Columbus Day holiday on Oct. 12.
The official said Rubio had been particularly angry, not least because he visited Athens just last week and Guilfoyle attended most, if not all, of his events and greeted him on his arrival with a bear hug as the allegations swirled.
In a series of stories, The Wall Street Journal has reported questionable conduct by Guilfoyle, including an alleged threat to a host country official, accepting improper gifts and services and offering to use her influence inside the administration in return for the payment of a large credit card bill.
Guilfoyle has not addressed the reports directly, but in a statement released late on Oct. 11, her lawyers denied she had done anything wrong and claimed that the money she was seeking from the Trump donor was payment for services, public appearances and speaking engagements that predate her ambassadorial nomination, that had not been paid.
After defending Guilfoyle following the first report, Rubio has declined to comment publicly on the growing allegations. On Oct. 7, Rubio said: “Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here.”
But after another report appeared late on Oct. 7, Rubio on Oct. 8 before leaving Athens berated journalists for asking about the allegations, saying he didn’t know if they were true and that he would not respond if he could not confirm them.
