The Trump administration's revolving door of scandal took another turn this week as Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former ambassador to Greece, was forced to resign following a series of damaging reports about her conduct. The departure of Guilfoyle, who was once engaged to Donald Trump Jr., underscores the persistent ethics issues that continue to plague the White House.
Just days after her resignation, newly appointed press secretary Katie Zacharia was fired following a disastrous debut performance. Zacharia, who had falsely claimed to be a lawyer, stumbled through a statement praising Guilfoyle as “a wonderful asset to the team,” but her awkward delivery only drew more attention to the controversy. The satirical take from Andy Borowitz captured the mood, imagining Trump Jr. saying he realized he and Guilfoyle had more in common than he thought, given her use of proximity to power for financial gain.
Guilfoyle's downfall began with a report from The Wall Street Journal that she had asked Eric Deters, a Trump donor, to wire her $100,000 to cover her American Express bill just before her Senate confirmation hearing in July 2025. Deters declined, saying, “Your needing $100,000 urgent unfortunately is not going to work. I can’t do this without getting a divorce.” Messages later provided to The New York Times showed Guilfoyle promising to be Deters’s “ride or die in Trump world” and boasting that she could reach every cabinet secretary.
While Guilfoyle’s case is notable, it is merely a drop in the ocean of Trump administration corruption. The president himself raised over $2 billion last year, with more than half coming from crypto interests, even as his administration weakened the industry’s primary regulator. His sons are poised to profit from a billion-dollar tungsten mining venture in Kazakhstan, which is set to receive up to $1.6 billion in federal financing.
Trump Jr. also sits on the board of GrabAGun, a company that sells ammunition and gun accessories online. The administration has proposed regulatory changes that would allow firearms to be shipped directly to consumers, a move that could make millions for Trump Jr. A White House official insisted the rules were driven by Second Amendment concerns, but skeptics remain unconvinced. Adding to the mix, Trump Jr.’s recent wedding on two private islands was funded by an oligarch with ties to Putin.
Guilfoyle's own history is a study in political reinvention. She was married to California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, until their divorce in 2006. After that, she became a fixture in Trumpworld, speaking at the 2020 and 2024 Republican National Conventions. Her resignation marks a stunning fall from grace, a far cry from the “glamorous political union” that Harper’s Bazaar once predicted for her and Newsom.
In a social media post, Guilfoyle vowed to “vigorously defend my name, my reputation, and my integrity.” But the damage may be done. Trump, for his part, said he “didn’t like what I read” about her behavior, distancing himself from a woman who was once a close family ally.
The Guilfoyle affair is just the latest in a string of ethical lapses that have become the norm in this administration. From the president’s own business entanglements to the wedding of his former personal lawyer Alina Habba to a Turkish businessman with ties to the Maduro regime, the conflicts of interest are pervasive. Habba’s husband, Turhan Mildon, once bragged that “know-who” matters more than “know-how” in business, a sentiment that seems to sum up the administration’s approach to governance.
As the midterm elections approach, corruption is likely to be a central issue. Democrats are already seizing on these stories to argue that the administration is fundamentally compromised. Whether voters will care remains to be seen, but the pattern of sleaze and self-dealing is hard to ignore.
