“Immediately” fire Markarova due to Zelensky's visit to the arms factory in Pennsylvania in September, demanded House Speaker Mike Johnson. He specifically expressed outrage that no representatives from the Republican Party were invited for the visit, stating that this was “intentional” against the backdrop of the presidential campaign in the U.S.
As noted by WP, after Zelensky's visit to the factory, tensions escalated between Ukraine and the campaign of then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Commenting on Johnson's call to dismiss Markarova, Zelensky stated that he can only discuss Ukrainian ambassadors with the speakers of his own country. “This is, you know, the Constitution, and I cannot discuss this with Speaker Johnson, with all due respect,” the President of Ukraine said in an interview with Fox News (published on September 28).