Controversial politician and former news anchor Kari Lake Halperin was on Monday nominated by United States President Donald Trump to be the next US Ambassador to Jamaica.

If her nomination is confirmed by the US Senate, the Arizona Republican will replace the Jamaican-born Nick Perry who served as US Ambassador to Jamaica from 2022 to January 2025.

Lake, 56, began her media career in Arizona in 1991 and steadily rose through the ranks to become a popular anchor. Previously a Democrat, she is known for interviewing President Barack Obama in 2016 and Trump in 2020.

After the January 6 coup attempt by Trump supporters, Lake became one of the biggest election deniers in the United States which endeared her to Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement but which is believed by analysts to have cost her the Arizona governorship to Katie Hobbs in the 2022 election. She also lost in her bid at becoming a senator when she was defeated by Rueben Gallego.

Lake was appointed by Trump as senior advisor to the United States Agency for Global Media in March 2025 to oversee the agency’s Voice of America and Office of Cuba Broadcasting operations. She had a mandate to restructure and right-size the agency. She oversaw significant staff and operational cuts which were ruled illegal by a federal judge according to news reports.

Lake has been married to Jeff Halperin since August 1998. The couple has two children.