USA, media: "Trump removes envoy Paolo Zampolli"

Donald Trump has ousted Paolo Zampolli from his position at the State Department as special envoy. The US media reported this, underlining that Zampolli was notified of the decision on 15 October. According to Politico, the reason for the decision lies in an email dispute that Zampolli had with the Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau.

Zampolli was the US special envoy for global partnerships. A US official, writes Politico, "confirmed the dismissal of Paolo Zampolli", stating that his role "as envoy has been revoked and that he is no longer a public employee". An official also confirms to ABC that Zampolli has been removed from his position.

Zampolli: "Serivre Trump was the greatest honor of my life"

When asked to comment on his firing, Zampolli said in a statement: "Serving President Donald Trump and the United States has been the greatest honor of my life. I am deeply grateful to President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and the entire team. Now it's time to move on: get back to work, build relationships, and close deals," he added.

In a brief telephone interview, Zampolli said he was "absolutely not surprised" by being dismissed following the publication of the article. Zampolli, a personal friend of Trump, was fired hours after Politico published an article chronicling the months-long email dispute he had with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. The conflict between the two officials was over questions of authority and hierarchical lines, with Landau trying to keep Zampolli focused on his role as cultural envoy.