Kimberly Guilfoyle ousted as ambassador to Greece over corruption allegations

Washington — Kimberly Guilfoyle said Tuesday she would step aside as U.S. ambassador to Greece after the White House asked her to resign, days after reports that she offered access to administration officials in exchange for help paying off her debt.

"We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign," White House press secretary Katie Zacharia said during her first press briefing Tuesday, breaking the news. "She has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well." 

The president, who said he hasn't spoken with Guilfoyle, soon confirmed she is leaving her post. 

"She will not be there. I didn't like what I read," he told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on his way to campaign in Alaska. 

The move came days after an associate shared text messages indicating she had asked him for $100,000 to pay her American Express bill before her Senate confirmation hearing last year. The Wall Street Journal first reported the messages last week.

In recent days, Guilfoyle had expressed reluctance to step down, but the White House briefing on Tuesday left her with little choice, two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News. 

Guilfoyle confirmed her plans to resign in a post on X less than two hours after Zacharia's comments. 

"While my time as ambassador may be coming to an end, my commitment to President Trump, the America First movement, and the country I love will never end," she wrote. 

But she also denied the allegations against her and said she intends to "rigorously defend" her name. 

"Serving as the United States Ambassador to Greece has been the honor of a lifetime," she wrote. "I will forever be grateful to President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for entrusting me with the extraordinary privilege of representing the greatest country in the history of the world."

There were no names circulating Tuesday in the White House for a new ambassador to Greece. 

Guilfoyle has few remaining allies in the Trump administration. Her former fiancé, Donald Trump Jr., has been polite to her but no longer has much contact with her, sources said.

The move to oust Guilfoyle comes after the president told reporters Monday he was "looking at" firing her, explaining he was "not happy."

Businessman Eric Deters said in an interview with CBS News last week that Guilfoyle asked him in July 2025 to wire $100,000 to her American Express account so her credit card debt wouldn't show up on her financial disclosures as she awaited Senate confirmation. 

Deters characterized her request as "pay to play," and said he had sought help from Guilfoyle with access to Trump administration officials, including the attorney general and IRS commissioner. White House officials were told that the text messages between Guilfoyle and Deters were authentic, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News last week. 

Deters told CBS News that "at that moment in time, I didn't have $100,000 to spare to give to Kimberly Guilfoyle, or I actually would have been a dumbass enough to do it." He said he made up an "excuse" that his wife wouldn't go along with it. 

Guilfoyle appeared at her confirmation hearing in mid-July 2025 and was confirmed that September.

The Journal also reported that Guilfoyle had boasted in January about Greek tycoons who were footing the bill for her luxury travel and expressed outrage about being blocked from a dinner for Eric Trump during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.