Zampolli loses envoy post after reported diplomatic feud

Paolo Zampolli has lost his US envoy post, officials said Thursday, ending a government assignment for a longtime Trump associate.

A US official said Zampolli’s appointment had been terminated and that his federal employment had ended. Two additional officials corroborated the removal, distinguishing it from the return to private business that Zampolli emphasized in his own statement.

The departure followed, by several hours, a published account alleging a prolonged disagreement with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. That account described disputes about reporting lines and other matters, including emails containing personal insults; the officials confirming Zampolli’s dismissal did not identify its cause.

An extension ends in dismissal

Zampolli said Thursday that the envoy assignment had originally been intended to run for one year. According to his statement, Trump had subsequently granted an additional six months, extending the appointment beyond its initial duration.

His response emphasized gratitude rather than a challenge to the decision. “The President is always right,” Zampolli said, while describing his next step as a return to commercial work and relationship-building.

Zampolli also recounted a conversation in which Trump encouraged him to pursue business opportunities rather than remain in government. That version of the exchange was Zampolli’s own account, not an explanation offered by the officials who confirmed his removal.

Personal ties preceded the appointment

Trump announced Zampolli’s selection in March 2025, citing his international experience and connections to cultural and diplomatic institutions. The position gave a formal government role to someone whose relationship with the Trump family long predated the appointment.

A businessman with a background as a modeling agent, Zampolli had represented Melania Trump. He has said that he introduced her to Donald Trump at a party he hosted in 1998, placing his account of their connection decades before his envoy service.

Zampolli’s earlier public positions included membership on the Kennedy Center board during Trump’s first term. He had also represented Dominica, the Caribbean country, as an ambassador to the United Nations, experience Trump cited when announcing the appointment.

Commercial claims and diplomatic authority

During his tenure, Zampolli promoted what he described as business agreements secured for the administration. Those claims formed part of his presentation of the envoy job as a vehicle for commercial relationships, a theme he returned to when announcing his plans to resume business activities.

The reported disagreement with Landau concerned a different institutional issue: how the envoy operated within the department’s hierarchy. The alleged exchanges and the confirmed removal remain distinct developments; their timing alone does not establish that the dispute prompted the dismissal.

Zampolli’s statement thanked Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary Marco Rubio, without offering a detailed response to the reported disagreements. His stated next step is private business; whether another appointee will assume the global partnerships assignment has not been announced in the statements describing his departure.