Trump Plans to Send Kari Lake to Jamaica

Kari Lake, who faced opposition and legal battles she frequently lost while trying to effectively shutter the government's international broadcasting agency on President Trump's orders, has been picked to be the next US ambassador to Jamaica. The White House sent Lake's nomination to the Senate on Monday, the Washington Post reports. A former TV anchor in Arizona, Lake ran unsuccessfully for both governor and US senator before joining Trump's second administration as the top official at the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America and other outlets.

Instead of operating the agency, Lake implemented a March 2025 Trump executive order directing that USAGM be cut back to the smallest footprint allowed by law, laying off contractors and putting hundreds of full-time employees on paid administrative leave. Former Voice of America staffers, including then-director Michael Abramowitz, sued Lake in federal court, and US District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled she had been running USAGM without proper authority because she was never formally nominated as its CEO. He also held that her plan to carry out Trump's downsizing order violated federal administrative law, a decision that could allow sidelined employees to return to work, though an appeals court has temporarily paused their immediate reinstatement.

Following the ruling, Trump nominated State Department official Sarah B. Rogers as USAGM CEO and named Michael Rigas acting CEO. In a post Monday, Lake thanked Trump for the nomination and said she's "honored to continue serving in this HISTORIC Administration!" Scott Renner has been fulfilling the ambassador's duties since January 2025, per the Hill.