Kimberly Guilfoyle, President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Greece, is facing calls for her removal after she reportedly brought a lobbyist into meetings with foreign officials.
Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host who was once engaged to Donald Trump Jr., was confirmed to the post last year. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that top lawmakers on the House and Senate foreign affairs panels have urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to look into her conduct.
They pointed to a recent Journal investigation into her push to promote natural gas deals involving a Greek company across southeastern Europe. “If these reports are accurate, Ambassador Guilfoyle is unfit to represent the United States abroad and should be removed from her position,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) wrote in a Wednesday letter to Rubio. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), who backed Guilfoyle’s confirmation, sent a separate letter Thursday.
“Such actions do not serve U.S. credibility overseas and risk undermining U.S. diplomacy,” she wrote. The lawmakers are seeking records of every meeting attended by Christos Marafatsos, a registered lobbyist for Aktor Group. Aktor’s joint venture with a Greek state-backed energy firm signed a 20-year agreement last fall to purchase American liquefied natural gas from Venture Global.
The letters also raise questions about Guilfoyle’s financial interests and her use of private jets, including one flight paid for by Aktor’s chief executive. Former embassy staffers told The Journal that ambassadors rarely fly privately and need explicit approval to do so.
The Journal previously reported that Guilfoyle clashed with Greece’s energy minister at a March dinner in Athens. Speaking about Romania’s government, which was then close to collapse, she allegedly said, “We can do that to any country we want. We can do that here.” Her lawyer disputed that account, according to The Journal. Romania’s government fell in a no-confidence vote in May.
The U.S. Embassy in Greece has defended the ambassador. An embassy official said Guilfoyle “continues to follow all State Department ethical guidelines” and that “any insinuation that she was operating outside of ethical guidelines is categorically false.”
A lawyer for Aktor also rejected the criticism, telling The Journal, “The Ambassador has been consistently promoting U.S. interests.” The State Department has not publicly indicated whether it will review the lawmakers’ request.