President Trump on Monday appointed Kari Lake, a fierce ally of the president who had led the administration’s efforts to shutter Voice of America and other federally funded news groups, as the next ambassador to Jamaica.
Her appointment, if confirmed by the Senate, would end her tumultuous time at the parent agency for federally funded news groups that broadcast to countries with limited press freedom, such as China, Russia and Iran. Under Ms. Lake’s leadership, the U.S. Agency for Global Media tried and failed to fire hundreds of Voice of America journalists and to cut funding for other news groups after facing setbacks in court and in Congress.
Voice of America remains severely diminished from its earlier presence, broadcasting only in a handful of languages like Persian, Korean and Chinese, often airing less than an hour of news service a day, except for its service to Iran.
In March, a federal judge voided Ms. Lake’s actions as the global media agency chief, ruling that she was appointed illegally as the interim leader. That ruling effectively nullified nearly all of the actions the Trump administration took to dismantle V.O.A., the news group that was founded in 1942 to combat Nazi propaganda and broadcast to more than 360 million people every week in 49 languages until early 2025.
The Trump administration did not appeal the judge’s ruling that found Ms. Lake’s appointment illegal. The 60-day deadline to appeal passed as of last week.
Congress also repeatedly rejected Mr. Trump’s budget request that aimed to defund Voice of America and other federally funded news groups like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. A budget bill that Congress passed in February, for instance, included about $200 million for Voice of America along with hundreds of millions of dollars for other news groups, reducing its budget by a quarter but upending Mr. Trump’s wishes.
Kate Neeper, a director at the global media agency who was put on paid leave in 2025 and joined a lawsuit to stop the dismantling of V.O.A., said Ms. Lake’s departure confirmed that V.O.A. journalists and its support staff prevailed against the administration’s blitz.
“This is a concession to that victory,” Ms. Neeper said in an interview about Ms. Lake’s new appointment. “Kari Lake was not able to dismantle the agency for lots of reasons, so they’ve decided to have her do something else.”
Ms. Lake said in a social media post that she was “honored to continue serving in this historic administration.”
“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,” she said.
After the judge ruled her appointment invalid in March, Ms. Lake continued serving at the media agency as its deputy chief executive. It is not clear whether Ms. Lake would continue to serve as the deputy until the Senate confirms her ambassadorship.
The White House and the global media agency did not respond to requests for comment.
The court battle for the future of Voice of America continues. In March, the appeals court in Washington stopped V.O.A. journalists from quickly returning to their posts, questioning whether a federal judge can directly order federal agencies on personnel matters.
Another set of V.O.A. journalists has sued the administration, accusing it of interfering with their editorial independence stipulated in law.
In the complaint, one of the V.O.A. officials hired under Ms. Lake’s leadership, Hui Jing, was said to have demanded “loyalty” to the Trump administration if reporters wanted to “keep their jobs.” The lawsuit was filed after the Trump administration tried to give Mr. Trump’s political appointees more control over operations at two federally funded news groups, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and hired an executive at Newsmax, a right-wing news channel, as the deputy director of V.O.A.
Patsy Widakuswara, Voice of America’s former White House bureau chief who sued the administration after being put on paid leave in March 2025, said that despite Ms. Lake’s planned departure, V.O.A. could still become “a government mouthpiece.”
“Our fight was never about Kari Lake,” Ms. Widakuswara said in a statement. “It’s about keeping V.O.A. operational and free from political interference.”
Minho Kim reports on breaking news for The Times from Washington.
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