President Donald Trump has nominated Kari Lake to be the nation’s ambassador to Jamaica, seemingly ending her controversial run presiding over the dismantling of U.S.-owned media organizations.
It means Lake could face a confirmation vote involving U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, her former political opponent.
The announcement Monday from the White House formalizes a shift in direction and leadership at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, set in play when a federal judge struck down all of Lake’s leadership decisions in March because she had not been confirmed by the Senate to head the agency she headed.
Days after that ruling, Trump nominated Sarah B. Rogers, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy, to head USAGM. Rogers and Lake maintained Lake still had a role to play in the agency, although it was ill-defined.
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Lake, a former Phoenix Fox 10 broadcaster, has worked in the State Department in the Trump administration but has no known background in diplomacy. In a social media post, Lake thanked Trump for the job change.
“Jamaica is a country I know very well, full of incredible people, and if confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to strengthening the partnership between our nations, advancing America’s interests abroad, and building on the deep friendship shared by the American and Jamaican people,” Lake said. “Honored to continue serving in this HISTORIC Administration!”
Lake's actions to shut down media agency challenged
In little more than a year in Washington, Lake has been one of the more prominent cheerleaders for the Trump administration. She has demonstrated the same pugnacious instincts in dealing with media nationally as she showed in her losing 2022 gubernatorial and 2024 Senate runs.
Last month, on the night a would-be assassin allegedly tried to kill Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Lake laced into CNN broadcaster Jake Tapper.
“I walked out right next to Jake Tapper and looked him in the eye,” Lake told the conservative Newsmax shortly after the incident. “And I said, ‘How dare you? You have caused so much division in this country pushing lies. We’re not going to call it gaslighting anymore — you’ve lied to the people. How dare you do that?'”
Last week, Vanity Fair detailed speculation that Lake’s departure from USAGM was imminent.
She leaves USAGM battling lawsuits challenging her actions that led to Voice of America effectively going dark more than a year ago. That organization dated to World War II and was intended as a bulwark against authoritarian propaganda.
Lake carried out the Trump administration’s efforts to halt what it viewed as taxpayer-funded propaganda.
Jamaica rebuilding after Hurricane Melissa
The U.S. and Jamaica had about $3 billion in bilateral trade in 2023, according to a fact sheet from the State Department in 2024.
If Lake gets the post in Kingston, it would seemingly end at least for a while speculation about her future. Lake, an Iowa native, had been mentioned as considering a run for office in her home state, and had been mentioned in other government posts under Trump as well.
The Caribbean island is still rebuilding after sustaining its first ever direct hit from a Category 5 hurricane last year with Hurricane Melissa in October.
Lake has said she has visited the island numerous times and indicated a fondness for it over the years on social media.
After Melissa, Lake wrote, “Lord, Protect the people of Jamaica. I have been to this airport dozens of times — shocked by what I am seeing on this video.”
In another post, she wrote, “I truly love Jamaica and its people, and it is heartbreaking to see what is happening and what is about to happen with the intense Category 5 Hurricane Melissa. It has been nearly 200 years since a storm this catastrophic struck the island. The people of Jamaica are truly amazing. They will need a lot of help once the storm passes. For now, we pray.”
On a happier occasion, Lake wrote in 2017, “Go Jamaica! I always root for this amazing, strong and beautiful island.”
The Trump administration has made counterterrorism its highest priority in the Caribbean, with the elimination of drug cartels from the western hemisphere a top priority. In January, the U.S. toppled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Trump has applied rhetorical pressure on Cuba.
