After a Wall Street Journal Investigation Into Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle — a Dinner Remark About Toppling Governments and a Greek Energy Lobbyist in Her Official Meetings — Gregory Meeks Says That if the Reports Are Accurate She "Is Unfit to Represent the United States Abroad," and Jeanne Shaheen Says Her Conduct Risks "Undermining U.S. Diplomacy"

October 1, 2026

On Sept. 25, 2026, the Wall Street Journal reported that Kimberly Guilfoyle, President Trump's ambassador to Greece, had told attendees at a March dinner in Athens with Greek and American officials that the United States could bring about political change in a country the way Romania's government had fallen — a remark her lawyer disputed — and that she had promoted natural gas projects involving the Greek construction and energy company Aktor Group across Southeast Europe while bringing Aktor's registered lobbyist, Christos Marafatsos, into meetings with foreign officials. Aktor's joint venture had signed a 20-year deal to buy American liquefied natural gas from Venture Global; the Journal also reported that Guilfoyle traveled on private jets, including one flight covered by Aktor's chief executive. On Oct. 1, the ranking Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), sent separate letters to Secretary of State Marco Rubio seeking a review. A U.S. Embassy official said Guilfoyle "continues to follow all State Department ethical guidelines" and that "any insinuation that she was operating outside of ethical guidelines are categorically false."