Paolo Zampolli Fired From State Department After Public Email Feud

Paolo Zampolli, a special envoy for global partnerships and longtime personal friend of President Donald Trump, was fired from his State Department role on Thursday. His termination followed the public leak of a year-long, acrimonious email feud with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau over departmental authority and diplomatic conduct.

The Dismissal of Paolo Zampolli

Zampolli, a former modeling agent who claims credit for introducing Donald Trump to Melania Trump in 1998, was informed of his termination by a U.S. official on Thursday. The firing marks the end of an official tenure that began in March 2025, when the president appointed him as a special representative for global partnerships. Zampolli’s removal occurred hours after Politico published details of a bitter, months-long tit-for-tat email war between the envoy and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.

Reflecting on his departure, Zampolli framed the transition as a return to his private-sector roots, stating that serving the United States has been the greatest honor of his life and that he is deeply grateful to President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary Marco Rubio, and the entire team. Now it is time for the next chapter – back to business, building relationships and closing deals. He just did it again.

Email Conflicts and Allegations

The correspondence between Zampolli and Landau, which spanned nearly a year and often included over a dozen other administration officials in the recipient fields, revealed deep disagreements regarding the chain of command. In November 2025, Landau ordered Zampolli to immediately stop all work unrelated to cultural diplomacy, warning that pursuing unauthorized commercial or economic ventures could lead to disciplinary action, dismissal, and legal liability. Landau wrote, I am hereby ordering you–once again–to immediately stop all work on ANY issues not directly tied to cultural diplomacy, adding that Zampolli had no authority to conduct wider foreign policy.

Zampolli, who has previously stated that his number-one boss is the president of America, repeatedly challenged Landau’s authority to supervise his portfolio. The conflict escalated as Zampolli took on responsibilities well outside the sphere of culture, such as publicizing his interactions with Romania’s energy minister, managing nuclear energy matters in Hungary, participating in International Monetary Fund and World Bank summits, conferring with the United Arab Emirates’ director of foreign direct investment, and negotiating with an Argentine representative regarding the launch of that nation’s astronauts. In July, Zampolli sent White House personnel director Dan Scavino an Axios story critical of Landau, adding an accusation of his own by writing, This is only a small example of how the Deputy Secretary continues to undermine the President’s and the Secretary agenda. Zampolli complained to Politico that Landau has been attacking me from Day 1 and that everything I did, he tried to destroy it.

Legal and Diplomatic Complications

• Victoria Drake Lawsuit: Zampolli faces a civil lawsuit filed by 33-year-old model and tech entrepreneur Victoria Drake, who accuses him of drugging and sexually assaulting her at his Manhattan townhouse in October 2023.
• Diplomatic Overreach: Landau personally contacted Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić to warn him that Zampolli lacked authorization to represent Washington on matters beyond culture, apologizing for any confusion caused by the envoy’s visit to Belgrade.
• Administrative Turmoil: Zampolli’s exit follows the forced resignation of Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former U.S. ambassador to Greece, marking the second departure of a Trump-aligned diplomat in recent days.

Administration Reaction

One administration official described the visible email clashes as cartoonish and embarrassing. A State Department spokesperson insisted that Landau remained dedicated to coordinating officials to carry out the foreign policy goals of Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, including oversight of special envoys.