LAKE IN LIMBO

As Kari Lake’s nomination to become the next United States (US) ambassador to Jamaica faces uncertainty, one of her predecessors, Don Tapia, has raised concerns about whether she can be trusted to handle sensitive diplomatic discussions.

Lake was nominated by US President Donald Trump in May, but her confirmation has been stalled in the Senate, with Senator Thom Tillis blocking the nomination from reaching the Senate floor in August.

Her nomination could die if no confirmation takes place before the Senate goes into recess on October 2.

Lake has come through the vetting process and was approved by the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee to send her nomination to the Senate for confirmation. However, Senator John Cornyn placed a hold on her nomination. That hold was released, but Tillis is not allowing the nomination to reach the Senate floor.

Tillis, who is leaving the Senate at the end of this term after losing his re-election bid, told media platform Semafor that “there’s some people who are saying, ‘Let her go to Jamaica’, but the reality is, once she gets Senate confirmed, she could go other places in acting roles, and that’s what I am not going to allow.”

Ambassadorial appointments are usually confirmed by the Senate as a group by en bloc vote.

Tillis feels that once Lake is confirmed by the Senate, it could open the door to more powerful appointments.

Former US Ambassador Tapia, who served during the first Trump administration, told The Gleaner he was concerned about Lake being appointed because he did not feel she could be trusted.

“Imagine she has discussions with Jamaican Government officials and the information is not ready to be made public. I strongly believe that she would make such information public,” he said.

DROP OUT OF THE RACE

Tapia pointed to Lake’s run for governor in Arizona when the chairman of the local Republican Party was tasked with speaking with her and asking that she drop out of the race as the numbers showed that she could not win.

“Instead, she taped the private conversation and made it public, leading to the chairman having to resign his position,” said Tapia.

He questioned how someone running for the highest office in Arizona could do such a thing.

“The people of Arizona do not trust her. She ran for governor and the US Senate and lost both times, which sends a powerful statement that the people in the state do not trust her,” he said.

He said that when one is at the highest level of government, that person must be someone who can be trusted.

Prior to her nomination as ambassador to Jamaica, she was chosen by Trump to lead an agency that oversees Voice of America and other media services such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. During her tenure, she terminated contracts and laid off most of the employees with Voice of America.

However, a federal judge ruled in March this year that she lacked legal authority to dismantle the institution.

Her appointment comes almost two years since the post of US ambassador to Jamaica became vacant. The previous ambassador, N. Nick Perry, stepped down from the post following the swearing-in of Trump after he won the 2024 presidential election.

After Lake’s nomination was announced, The Gleaner spoke with Jamaicans in the diaspora to get their reactions.

The Jamaicans who responded were guarded in their comments about her nomination.

Dr Rupert Green, a supporter of the Republican Party, told The Gleaner at the time that he believed that the president was doing her a favour with the nomination.

“It will be interesting to see how she fits into her role if and when she is confirmed by the Senate,” he said.

Irwine Clare, a prominent Caribbean-American community leader, told The Gleaner that Jamaica would be in for interesting times if she was confirmed.

“Unlike other appointments who brought specific skills to the position, whether as businesspeople or former elected officials. I don’t know what value Lake brings to the position,” he said then.

Clare said he wondered what her mandate would be and questioned whether she would be tasked with monitoring Jamaican affairs and activities.

“Knowing her background and the person she is, Jamaica will be in for an interesting two years,” he said.

Scherie Murray, New York GOP state committeewoman for the 9th Assembly District, said she believed Lake to be a very capable person and would no doubt see that the mandate of the administration was carried out.

“I have no doubt that she will be confirmed to the position as she has been a staunch ally of the administration and will carry out the objectives of the administration,” Murray said at the time.

Dr Allan Cunningham said that he did not know too much about Lake but as with ambassadors in the past, Jamaica would welcome her.

“We need to maintain our relationship with the United States, especially our trade agreements, and so we look forward to working with her,” he said.

Attorney Winston Tucker said that with her nomination, Jamaica could expect a Trumpian response to everything.

“Hopefully, the Jamaican Government is too steeped in the country’s democratic traditions to allow anything to derail the country,” he said.

Tucker said Lake’s appointment was not helpful to Jamaica.

editorial@gleanerjm.com