On Wednesday, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the nomination of Kimberly Guilfoyle as the next US Ambassador to Greece. The committee voted in her favor by a majority following her recent confirmation hearing.
Guilfoyle’s nomination was supported by 13 of the 22 committee members. All 12 Republican senators voted in favor, along with Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who spoke positively of Guilfoyle’s candidacy.
Next steps before Kimberly Guilfoyle becomes US Ambassador to Greece
On her path to becoming the next US Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle is to also undergo a confirmation vote by the full Senate. This would be the final step before she officially assumes her post at the US Embassy in Athens. She would succeed Ambassador George Tsunis.
Her initial hearing prior to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee took place a week earlier. She addressed key issues concerning US–Greece relations and praised Greece as a strategic ally, highlighting the strength of bilateral cooperation.
If the full Senate confirms her appointment in the upcoming vote, Guilfoyle is expected to arrive in Athens by late August to early September.
Focus of the committee discussion on Guilfoyle’s ambassador role
During the hearing, Guilfoyle responded to questions on a range of topics, including US relations with Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and Israel. She emphasized Greece’s strategic importance as a pillar of stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and applauded its commitment to defense spending, which now exceeds three percent of its GDP and is expected to gradually rise to five percent.
She specifically pointed to Greece’s acquisition of F-35 fighter jets, stating that such defense upgrades contribute significantly to NATO’s southeastern flank security. In contrast, she noted that Turkey has been excluded from the F-35 program due to its cooperation with Russia on the S-400 missile system. Guilfoyle underscored the importance of working with allies who uphold their commitments—such as Greece—and reaffirmed the United States’ dedication to international law, criticizing Turkish airspace violations.
Who is Kimberly Guilfoyle?
Kimberly Guilfoyle is an attorney, former television personality, and political strategist. She gained national recognition as a co-host of The Five on Fox News and previously served as an assistant district attorney in both San Francisco and Los Angeles prior to transitioning to a career in media.
Guilfoyle left Fox News in July 2018 and joined Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign as the finance committee chair soon after. In the years that followed, she became a prominent political figure and testified before the House select committee, investigating the events of January 6, 2021.
She was born on March 9, 1969 in San Francisco. Her mother was of Puerto Rican descent, and her father immigrated to the US from Ireland at the age of twenty. Raised as a Catholic, she spent her early years in San Francisco’s Mission District and later in Daly City’s Westlake neighborhood.
In December 2001, she married Gavin Newsom, then a San Francisco city supervisor. Newsom became the city’s mayor in 2003.