Kari Lake, a prominent supporter of Donald Trump, has been chosen for a significant new role.
The former candidate for both governor and senator in Arizona is poised to become the US Ambassador to Jamaica, as revealed by the White House’s nomination list on Monday.
Lake’s appointment to this position requires confirmation by the US Senate, a hurdle she has yet to clear in her previous attempts at public office.
Among other key nominations, Cameron Hamilton has been proposed to once again head the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the Department of Homeland Security.
Previously removed by Kristi Noem due to budget cuts within the agency, Hamilton is seeking another opportunity to lead FEMA under the current direction of Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Additionally, the White House has withdrawn its nomination of “Make America Healthy Again” advocate Casey Means for the position of Surgeon General.
Presently, Lake serves as a senior advisor to the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM). She was nominated to lead the Voice of America at the start of the Trump administration, but was never confirmed by the US Senate for the job.
The 56-year-old Lake is a former television anchor who became a vocal proponent of Trump’s 2020 ‘big lie’ – that widespread fraud cost him reelection.
Kari Lake attends the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner at Washington Hilton on April 25, 2026 in Washington, DC
Donald Trump (L) embraces Republican candidate for governor Kari Lake at a ‘Save America’ rally in support of Arizona GOP candidates on July 22, 2022
The skyline of Kingston, Jamaica
That earned her two endorsements from the President, first when she ran and lost the 2022 Arizona governor’s race for the Republicans to Democrat Katie Hobbs and, again, when she lost an Arizona Senate seat to Democrat Ruben Gallego two years later.
Despite a current role in the administration, it was reported last November that Lake had hoped to mount a third political run – this time for an Arizona House seat – which she later told the Daily Mail was not in the picture.
‘That is not in my plans,’ Lake said during a red carpet appearance at the then-newly renamed Trump Kennedy Center. ‘I’m actually very happy working for the Trump administration,’ she said, adding, ‘I’m excited about work every day.’
She then made clear: ‘So the answer is no.’
Earlier reporting by the Atlantic painted a pitiful picture of Lake waiting in the White House lobby to bend Trump’s ear in October.
‘Kari has been here for hours,’ a White House aide revealed to the magazine. ‘She’s going to run and she’s asking for an endorsement.’
Lake denied the Atlantic’s reporting that she had been kept waiting for Trump to make her pitch. ‘The President has always been very gracious and generous when I have requested time with him,’ Lake said.
‘If and when I decide to run for office, The Atlantic will be the last to know,’ she also said.
In April 2024, amid Lake’s Senate run, the Washington Post, citing five sources, reported that Trump was growing annoyed with Lake for her frequent trips to Mar-a-Lago, at one point gently suggesting she leave the Florida resort and instead hit the campaign trail.
While Trump won back the White House, including turning Arizona back to red from blue, Lake lost to Arizona’s current Democrat Senator Ruben Gallego by 2.4 points that November.
The president then selected Lake to lead the United States Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America, which the twice-failed candidate attempted to shut down after it became a target of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
That effort had been hit by legal roadblocks, with Lake on uneven footing, having never been confirmed to her role by the US Senate.
