Paolo Zampolli, the former modeling agent credited with introducing Donald Trump to Melania Trump decades ago, has been removed from his post as a special envoy at the State Department following a bruising, monthslong email fight with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. A U.S. official said Zampolli's status as an envoy has been terminated and that he is no longer a government employee, while Zampolli himself framed the exit as a voluntary return to private business.
The 56-year-old businessman was fired just hours after POLITICO published a story recounting the clash with Landau. A U.S. official told the outlet that Zampolli's status “as an envoy has been terminated and he is no longer a government employee.” Zampolli, who served as a presidential special envoy for global partnerships, had suggested in a social media post that his departure was routine, writing that it was time for “the next chapter - back to business, building relationships and closing deals,” according to CNN.
A Yearlong Feud Spills Into Public View
The dispute between Zampolli and Landau played out over email across a wide range of topics, particularly issues of chain of command, and the messages between the two men included personal attacks, CNN reported. A separate POLITICO account of the correspondence found the emails stretched over almost a year and contained arguments and allegations of leaks and defamation. On November 14, 2025, Landau ordered Zampolli to stop working on issues not directly tied to cultural diplomacy, according to the outlet's reporting on the exchange.
Trump announced Zampolli as special envoy for global partnerships in March 2025, and Zampolli has said his own role, which he described as largely ceremonial, was only supposed to last a year before Trump extended it by roughly six months. He has called serving Trump and the United States the greatest honor of his life and expressed gratitude to the president, Secretary Rubio and the broader team. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment on his exit, per CNN's reporting.
From Nightlife Fixture to Washington Envoy
Zampolli and Trump were fixtures of New York City nightlife in the 1990s, and Zampolli hosted the 1998 party where he has said he introduced Melania Trump to her future husband. He once remarked, in 2016, that he and Trump both liked beautiful things. Beyond his envoy post, Zampolli previously sat on the Kennedy Center board during Trump's first term and served as an ambassador to the United Nations for the Caribbean island of Dominica, CNN noted. He has also hosted parties at a townhouse in Washington.
Second Trump Confidant Ousted in Days
Zampolli is the second Trump administration diplomat with personal ties to the president to be pushed out in recent days, following Kimberly Guilfoyle's departure as ambassador to Greece. Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.'s former fiancée, stepped down from her post this month after allegations of corruption, according to the Guardian. She had begun serving in Greece in November 2025. Separately, the State Department's Office of the Inspector General is investigating Guilfoyle and the embassy she leads, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The watchdog's involvement is not without precedent. NBC News noted that under President Biden in 2024, the same inspector general's office investigated then-U.S. Ambassador to Singapore Jonathan Kaplan and found he had threatened staff and failed to properly document roughly $48,000 in travel expenses. During the first Trump administration, the office also investigated then-Ambassador to the United Kingdom Woody Johnson and found he had made inappropriate comments about race, gender and religion to embassy staff, according to the outlet.
Noem's Envoy Role Also Quietly Lapses
The shake-ups extend beyond Zampolli and Guilfoyle. Kristi Noem, the former homeland security secretary, is no longer serving as the administration's special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a coalition of the United States and several Caribbean and Latin American countries focused on economic matters and anti-cartel enforcement, CBS News reported. Her envoy status expired last month, and she was reassigned as a senior adviser to Landau while continuing to work on the Shield of the Americas portfolio, per the same report.
Trump has appointed family members, friends and loyal political allies to represent the United States abroad throughout his term, the Guardian reported, pointing to appointees such as Charles Kushner, who began serving as ambassador to France and Monaco in July 2025, and Bill White, who became ambassador to Belgium that November. Kari Lake was tapped to serve as ambassador to Jamaica in May 2026, though her nomination has not yet been confirmed.
