The circumstances leading to Kimberly Guilfoyle’s removal as US ambassador to Greece have been revealed in a Wall Street Journal report detailing her final days in the post.

According to the newspaper, Guilfoyle made frantic attempts to save her job as damaging revelations mounted, calling administration officials and people close to US President Donald Trump in an effort to play down reports that she appeared to have used her diplomatic position for personal gain.

The WSJ reports that Guilfoyle had been concerned about her future since late September, when it emerged that she had been promoting a Greek construction company while working closely with its chief lobbyist. According to people familiar with the matter, she began contacting government officials and prominent Trump supporters, often in the early hours of the morning in Athens, seeking their support.

Her position became increasingly precarious after the newspaper published a second investigation containing text messages suggesting that she had requested $100,000 from a Trump donor ahead of her Senate confirmation hearing last year. Guilfoyle contacted White House officials and claimed the messages had been generated by artificial intelligence, according to the report.

Officials did not believe her explanation, the WSJ said. The atmosphere at the US embassy in Athens became increasingly tense following a third report, published on Saturday, alleging that Guilfoyle had accepted private jet flights and stays at some of Europe’s most expensive hotels from Greek shipowner Nikolas Tsakos.

The newspaper describes how Guilfoyle became increasingly determined to identify those leaking information that had made her the subject of ridicule on American late-night television programmes. According to people familiar with the situation, she suspected embassy employees and members of her personal security detail.

Visitors to Jefferson House, her official residence in Athens, which she had decorated with large portraits of herself, reportedly noticed her looking over their shoulders at a muted television broadcasting news coverage of her mounting political difficulties. At one point, she contacted Matthew Boyle, the Washington bureau chief of Breitbart News, seeking his help in putting pressure on administration officials to support her.

I had wonderful evening with my dear friend Ambassador Jorge Domecq @EmbEspAtenas celebrating Spain’s National Day! The U.S. greatly values our deep transatlantic alliance and enduring partnership with Spain and Greece as we work together for regional peace and security. ¡Feliz Fiesta Nacional! 🇺🇸🇪🇸🇬🇷

— Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle (@USAmbassadorGR) October 12, 2026

Despite the growing controversy, Guilfoyle attempted to maintain an appearance of normality. On Monday, she posted a photograph with the Spanish ambassador to Greece to mark Spain’s national day, accompanied by the message “Feliz Fiesta Nacional!” She also used Instagram to wish Lara Trump, the US president’s daughter-in-law, a happy birthday.

According to the WSJ, Guilfoyle was still assuring associates early on Tuesday morning that she would survive the scandal. Trump, however, was losing patience.

During preparations for the first White House press briefing by newly appointed spokeswoman Katie Zacharia, Trump instructed her to announce publicly that he was asking Guilfoyle to resign. According to one person familiar with the matter, the president had not spoken directly to the ambassador before making his decision.

“We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign. She has been an extraordinarily valuable member of our team, and we wish her all the best,” Zacharia told reporters.

BREAKING: US ambassador to Greece Guilfoyle has been asked to resign, White House says https://t.co/zvdN1okCpX

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) October 13, 2026

People who had spoken to Trump told the newspaper that the president was angered by how blatant the allegations appeared and was concerned that Guilfoyle might have been making money by exploiting his presidency.

Senior presidential advisers had also grown increasingly frustrated with the damaging coverage, fearing that it would reinforce perceptions of public office being used for personal enrichment just weeks before the US midterm elections.

The series of negative reports disrupted the Secretary of State’s carefully laid plans and created problems for White House officials, who scrambled to piece together Guilfoyle’s activities in a corner of southeastern Europe thousands of miles from Washington.

From Fox News to the US embassy in Athens

Guilfoyle’s political downfall followed an unconventional path to the ambassadorship, the newspaper notes.

The former wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom and a former assistant district attorney in San Francisco, Guilfoyle became a presenter on Fox News before beginning a relationship with Donald Trump Jr. around the middle of Trump’s first presidential term.

The couple became engaged before Trump left the White House at the end of his first term. Following the breakdown of their relationship, Trump selected Guilfoyle to represent the United States in Athens.

With two million Instagram followers and stylist Fancy James regularly accompanying her on her travels, Guilfoyle became a prominent example of a new style of American diplomacy under Trump, combining celebrity, business and geopolitics.

She also assumed a central role in a longstanding US foreign policy objective pursued by successive presidents since Barack Obama: persuading European countries that had traditionally relied on Russian natural gas to pay higher prices for American supplies.

Guilfoyle travelled extensively across the Balkans, seeking to persuade European governments to purchase billions of dollars’ worth of US natural gas through a Greek company. Its chief executive and principal lobbyist frequently flew her aboard private aircraft and attended meetings alongside her.

According to the WSJ, her departure raises questions about the future of the diplomatic campaign to channel American gas through pipelines that previously carried Russian energy.

The newspaper suggests that Trump now appears willing to distance himself from an ambassador who once advertised her access to the Oval Office but now faces calls for investigations from congressional Democrats, who could gain a majority following the midterm elections.

In March, Trump had praised Guilfoyle at a White House event celebrating Greek Independence Day, describing her as a “longtime friend” and an “inspiration”. On Tuesday, however, he told reporters: “No, she wasn’t a member of my family. I think she dated my son a long time ago.”

Donald Trump in March: Kimberly Guilfoyle has been my friend for a long time. I love calling her Kimberlay. That’s my little pet name, right? But you are the greatest… Trump today: She was not a member of my family. She dated my son a long time ago. https://t.co/mhXCemydDG

— Lucas Sanders 👊🏽🔥🇺🇸 (@LucasSa56947288) October 13, 2026

Rubio’s visit to Athens and the $100,000 revelation

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his senior advisers were approximately halfway to Athens last week when they learned that the Wall Street Journal was preparing to publish a report alleging that Guilfoyle had asked Trump donor and former congressional candidate Eric Deters to pay $100,000 towards her American Express account.

Guilfoyle was waiting on the airport tarmac to welcome Rubio, whose team was preparing a major speech on Western civilisation that he was due to deliver at the Acropolis the following day.

The event had been meticulously planned, and his advisers feared the controversy could overshadow it. According to senior administration officials cited by the WSJ, the revelations caught them off guard and caused considerable frustration. As they assessed the potential consequences, they contacted officials in Washington.

Just days earlier, Rubio had defended Guilfoyle, describing her as an “extremely effective advocate” for Trump’s policy agenda and emphasising that the administration valued her highly.

Upon his arrival in Athens, Guilfoyle greeted Rubio with hugs and kisses. According to the newspaper, she appeared eager to dispel any suggestion of a rift with the Secretary of State, posting photographs of their embrace and other moments together on social media.

Welcome to Athens, @SecRubio! 🇺🇸🇬🇷 It is an honor to welcome Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Greece as he leads the U.S. delegation for the Sixth U.S.-Greece Strategic Dialogue. His visit underscores the strength of our alliance and our shared commitment to advancing @POTUS’s priorities, including defense cooperation, trade and investment, and energy cooperation. The U.S.-Greece partnership has never been stronger, and together we are building an even more secure and prosperous future for both our nations and the region.

— Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle (@USAmbassadorGR) October 6, 2026

Sources said Trump advisers had discussed removing Guilfoyle even while Rubio was in Greece. However, the Secretary of State did not want any action against her to overshadow his visit.

Before Trump decided to demand her resignation, administration officials had also considered recalling Guilfoyle from Athens for discussions with Rubio and other senior officials, with the aim of persuading her to step down.

Political repercussions in Greece

The controversy quickly spread to the Greek political arena. For days, Greek newspapers carried large photographs of Guilfoyle and reports about the scandal on their front pages.

The opposition PASOK party demanded answers about whether Guilfoyle had used her position to advance private business interests and called for greater transparency surrounding energy and defence agreements. Some opposition figures also questioned whether Greek officials had responded adequately to her conduct.

Ahead of Rubio’s visit, Guilfoyle had been trying to contain the damage from the negative publicity. Earlier this month, she asked the State Department whether it could arrange for an article published by the British tabloid Daily Mail to be removed from the internet, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The article alleged that she had failed to settle a €1,586 ($1,768) bill for two cases of champagne and a dinner.

State Department officials asked Guilfoyle whether she could provide proof that the bill had been paid, but she failed to produce any, according to the same source.

Energy plans and agreements across the Balkans

Within a matter of months, Guilfoyle had helped bring together approximately six countries, including Albania, Romania and Ukraine, which signed memoranda of understanding or other declarations signalling their intention to purchase American natural gas.

These arrangements largely involved transporting gas through Greek construction group Aktor and its joint venture with a state-backed Greek energy company.

However, the Albanian Energy Ministry has now told the WSJ that it remains unconvinced of the agreement’s economic viability and is awaiting a comprehensive feasibility study.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s state-owned energy company Naftogaz Group told the newspaper that it had suspended its negotiations, while Romania’s state-owned gas transmission operator Transgaz said its memorandum of understanding had expired.

Aktor’s lawyers maintained that the 20-year gas supply agreement with Albania was binding on the parties and subject to international arbitration.

The company also said negotiations with Ukraine over spot gas supply contracts were continuing and that it expected talks with Romania to resume.

The resignation announcement and the added tribute to Greece

In a social media post on Tuesday announcing her resignation, Guilfoyle expressed her gratitude to Trump and reaffirmed her support for the president.

She described her time as ambassador in Athens as the greatest honour of her life while rejecting the allegations against her as false.

The post was subsequently edited to include a sentence that had been absent from the original version: “My deepest and most sincere gratitude goes to the Greek people for their hospitality, partnership, and for welcoming me with open arms.”

Serving as the United States Ambassador to Greece has been the honor of a lifetime. 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. From my first day as Ambassador, I have worked tirelessly to advance President Trump’s America First agenda, strengthen our strategic alliance with Greece, and deliver meaningful victories for the American people. During my tenure, we have helped secure historic agreements to expand American liquefied natural gas exports to Europe, advanced the Vertical Corridor to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy, strengthened our defense and security partnership with a critical NATO ally, and expanded opportunities for American businesses and investment throughout the region. I am especially proud of the role our Embassy has played in strengthening American energy dominance, advancing economic cooperation, and ensuring that the United States remains the indispensable leader in Southeast Europe. These accomplishments are a testament to President Trump’s bold leadership, Secretary Rubio’s commitment to American diplomacy, and the extraordinary men and women who serve our country every day. I also want to address the recent allegations against me. These allegations are false, and I intend to vigorously defend my name, my reputation, and my integrity. I have dedicated my professional life to fighting for justice, standing up for what is right, and defending the values that make America exceptional. I will not allow false accusations to define my decades of public service. My gratitude and respect for President Trump and Secretary Rubio remain unwavering. I am proud of what we accomplished together, and I will always be a loyal supporter of President Trump and his mission to Make America Great Again. 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. It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve the United States of America. My deepest heartfelt appreciation to the people of Greece for their hospitality, partnership, and welcoming me with open arms. God bless President Trump, God bless our incredible diplomats and service members, and God bless the United States of America.

— Kimberly Guilfoyle (@kimguilfoyle) October 13, 2026