Kimberly Gilfoyle is no longer the United States Ambassador to Greece. On Tuesday 13 October, the White House asked her to resign, and that same afternoon her resignation was accepted. This followed reports in the Wall Street Journal regarding her conduct before and during her tenure, as well as an investigation by the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General. Until a new ambassador is appointed, the deputy head of mission, Josh Hack, will take charge of the embassy in Athens as chargé d’affaires.
What is she accused of?
The most specific allegation comes from Eric Dieters, a donor to the Republican Party. As reported by the WSJ, Ditters claims that a few days before Gilfoil’s Senate hearing in 2025, she asked him to pay a debt of 100,000 on an American Express credit card, in exchange for access to officials in the Trump administration. He states that he did not pay. Her lawyers counter that Ditters owes the former ambassador approximately $150,000 for speaking engagements, a claim he denies.
The newspaper also reported that Gilfoil boasted about her connections with Greek businessmen, who, she allegedly said, were funding her luxury holidays. The report cites people who heard the conversation and the recording. Her lawyers respond that for every trip she sought and followed the State Department’s instructions. The names of the businessmen have not been made public, nor have any charges been brought. Washington District Attorney Janine Piro stated that her office will most likely await the Inspector General’s findings.
How he left
Even in early October, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Athens, Washington was reluctant to take a stance. The change came within a few days. On Monday 12 October, Donald Trump said they were looking into the matter and that ‘we are not happy’. The following day, the new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, announced that the ambassador had been asked to resign. Trump added that Gilfoil “did a good job in Greece, but we didn’t like what we were reading”.
She herself wrote on X that her time in Greece was “the greatest honour of her life”, described the allegations as false and stated that she would defend “her name, reputation and integrity”.
There will be no farewell meeting with the President of the Republic, Konstantinos Tasoulas. Sources at the Presidency stated that there is no protocol or obligation for such a meeting with outgoing ambassadors and that the US Embassy did not submit a request to that effect.
Eleven months in Athens
Gillfoyle, a former Fox News presenter and former fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., was confirmed by the Senate in September 2025 and arrived in Athens on 1 November. She was the first woman to hold this post. Her term in office was characterised primarily by her energy. In November 2025, the Zappeion hosted the ministerial meeting of the Transatlantic Energy Partnership (P-TEC). There, a twenty-year agreement was announced between DEPA Trading and AKTOR with the American company Venture Global for the supply of liquefied natural gas from 2030, along with ExxonMobil’s entry into hydrocarbon exploration in the Ionian Sea. This was followed by a $125 million loan from the US development bank DFC for the Elefsina Shipyards.
What happens next?
Josh Hack is a career diplomat. He joined the US Foreign Service in 2001, headed the State Department’s Office of Southern European Affairs, which covers Greece, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, and has been based in Athens since August 2025. Since then, he has been primarily involved with the Vertical Corridor, the route that transports US LNG via Greece to northern Europe.
A new ambassador requires a nomination by the President and confirmation by the Senate. With the November mid-term elections in full swing, diplomatic sources estimate that a successor will not arrive in Athens before early 2027. As of 13 October, no names had been circulated at the White House.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, NBC News and CBS News (13 October 2026), sources from the Office of the President of the Republic via newsit.gr, iefimerida.gr (14 October 2026).
