Kathrine Frich
He himself is also no longer in his administration position.
Loyalty in Washington rarely lasts forever.
When political fortunes start to sour ahead of a major vote, even the closest allies can find themselves on the outside looking in.
One longtime insider is now sounding the alarm about a much wider departure at the very top.
A sudden exit
On Thursday, the State Department dismissed special envoy Paolo Zampolli, an old friend of President Donald Trump who reportedly introduced him to his future wife, Melania.
According to Digi24 and The Independent, the firing happened after leaked emails exposed a clash between Zampolli and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
Those leaked messages claimed Zampolli overstepped his largely ceremonial role as US special representative for global partnerships by meddling in diplomacy.
Earlier this year, he was accused of visiting the pro-Russian Balkan entity Republika Srpska, as well as discussing a Rome hotel deal with Italian Five Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte.
In an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica published on Saturday, Zampolli recalled how the president personally delivered the news. “Your mission at the State Department is over,” Trump told him, before adding, “Why don’t you go into business, since you’re good at it? At least you’ll make some money.”
Fleeing before midterms
Far from going quietly, the former envoy claims an “exodus” is underway before the midterm elections, with officials “fleeing” the White House. As Digi24 noted, Trump faces historically low approval numbers, and Republicans are broadly predicted to lose Congress and potentially the Senate.
Speaking to La Repubblica, Zampolli said that “at this moment, the government is changing, and many people are leaving the administration.” He then went a step further. “They’re not just leaving, they’re running away,” he told the newspaper.
Recent high-profile exits back up the sense of chaos. This week, press secretary Katie Zacharia stepped down after just five days amid doubts over her legal background and competence, while former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was dismissed in March, stated her special envoy term had finished, according to Digi24.
More names next
Still, Zampolli insisted to La Repubblica that his own exit was planned. “We’ve been talking about this for a while,” he said, before pointing toward other figures.
“There are discussions about others, like Grenell, Boulos, even Kushner and Witkoff, all of whom are in unofficial positions,” Zampolli added. As Digi24 reported, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who lacks a diplomatic background, serve as special envoys for the Middle East and the war in Ukraine.
When the Italian paper asked if he held any embarrassing secrets about the team, Zampolli kept his answer brief. “Information comes out on its own,” he replied.
