Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis understands that some people would like to see Kari Lake leave the country after two failed statewide campaigns and a troubled stint trying to dismantle Voice of America.
But he’s
concerned that if Lake, a former Phoenix TV news anchor who lost two statewide bids for public office in Arizona, is confirmed to serve as U.S. ambassador to Jamaica, she could land in another government role closer to home.
The outgoing Republican lawmaker from North Carolina is blocking Lake’s confirmation to represent the United States in the Caribbean, he told Semafor last week.
“There’s some people saying, ‘Please 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’m not going to allow,” Tillis said.
It’s part of a larger effort by Tillis to block some Trump nominees from being confirmed in a large package. The upper chamber is also facing a scheduling time crunch ahead of the midterm elections.
Representatives for Lake and Tillis did not respond to The Arizona Republic's requests for comment.
President Donald Trump nominated Lake to serve as ambassador to Jamaica in May. She has been waiting months for the Senate to confirm her.
Lake sat for a confirmation hearing in June, where senators pressed her on the baseless claims she made as a political candidate about election fraud and other issues.
Her blunders at the helm of the U.S. Agency for Global Media were a major area of scrutiny. The "81 Million Votes, My Ass" singer was not pressed, however, on why she falsely claimed she had won two Billboard music awards on her certificate of competency for the post.
“Over the past 35 years, I've traveled to Jamaica too many times to count,” Lake told lawmakers, noting she spent her honeymoon there.”It's the incredible Jamaican people whose warmth, friendliness, and deep pride in their country keeps us going back.”
A month later, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted in July to endorse Lake’s nomination on a 12-10 party line vote.
Her confirmation has languished since.
Stephanie Murray covers national politics and the Trump administration for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. She also co-hosts “The Gaggle,” The Republic’s weekly politics podcast. Reach her via email at stephanie.murray@usatodayco.com, on X and TikTok @stephanie_murr and on Instagram at stephaniemurray.news.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Please let her go to Jamaica': Why Kari Lake's confirmation stalled
