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 including 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.
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