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Guilfoyle’s Downfall Sparks Warning Across Trump Administration

Marco Rubio had some words for employees after the ambassador made shocking headlines.

Kimberly Guilfoyle’s abrupt exit from the Trump administration triggered a word of caution from her former boss.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reminded State Department employees of ethics rules after Guilfoyle was asked to step down as ambassador to Greece over bombshell allegations of improper—and possibly illegal—conduct in office.

kimberly guilfoyle

Kimberly Guilfoyle became U.S. Ambassador to Greece in September last year.

MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

“As part of demonstrating our personal and professional integrity, I expect employees to avoid conflicts of interest in our work, to act impartially, and to avoid using our public offices for private gain,” Rubio said in Wednesday correspondence obtained by Bloomberg.

Rubio, 55, underscored the importance of the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that bars federal employees from partisan political activity, “and related regulations regarding when and how we can engage in political activity, none of which is permitted in the federal workplace.”

“We each have a personal obligation to comply with our government ethics rules,” he said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable on the American mining industry at the U.S. Department of State on August 07, 2026 in Washington, DC.

President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were unhappy about reports of Guilfoyle's conduct.

Eric Lee/Getty Images

Rubio did not explain why he sent the message and the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Though Rubio made no mention of Guilfoyle, the correspondence was sent out just a day after the White House publicly asked her to resign in the messy aftermath of a Wall Street Journal exposé.

The damning story included screenshots of Guilfoyle asking Trump donor Eric Deters to wire her $100,000 to pay off an American Express card.

“It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express,” she wrote in messages reviewed by The Journal. “Please.”

Deters never made the payment, citing concerns about his marriage.

Guilfoyle was also accused of threatening foreign officials, giving lobbyists privileged access, and attempting to solicit payments in exchange for political influence.

The Associated Press later reported that Rubio and President Donald Trump were “extremely pi---d off” by reports of Guilfoyle’s conduct.

“Well, we’re looking at it,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “We’re not happy.”

Donald Trump and Marco Rubio at a cabinet meeting at Camp David.

Rubio sent out a memo reminding State Department employees of ethics rules after the fiasco.

Daniel Heuer/REUTERS

The White House asked Guilfoyle to step down during Katie Zacharia’s debut as press secretary on Tuesday.

“We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign,” Zacharia told reporters. “She has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well.”

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Guilfoyle, meanwhile, wrote in a lengthy statement on X that the allegations against her were “false” and she intended to “vigorously” defend her name.

“Serving as the United States Ambassador to Greece has been the honor of a lifetime,” she said. “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.”

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