- Donald Trump is reportedly considering Kari Lake to be the U.S. ambassador to Mexico.
- Lake will likely advocate for completion of the border wall and oversee the Trump administration's proposed tariffs on Mexican goods.
Kari Lake is reportedly in the running for the nomination of ambassador to Mexico under the Trump administration 2.0.
Semafor first reported the news, which is also circulating in Mexican news media.
Lake, a Republican, lost her bid for Senate against Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego last month. She also lost the race for Arizona governor in 2022. Lake has not officially conceded either of the races.
She is closely aligned with President-elect Donald Trump and received his endorsement during both her campaigns. Lake has echoed Trump’s claims of the 2020 election being stolen.
What would Lake do in this role?
Lake’s Senate platform included a 10-point plan to secure the border in lockstep with the Trump campaign’s proposals. It included restricting qualifications for asylum, enhancing surveillance and finishing the border wall.
Should she become the ambassador, Lake would likely continue advocating for Trump’s immigration plan while working with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on the inflow of migrants and drugs across the southern border. Sheinbaum said last week she hopes to have “an agreement with the Trump administration.”
Lake would also weigh in on Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods — his proposals have included tariffs as high as 25%. Trump helped negotiate the latest version of the free trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico during his first administration.
Could Lake chart a different course for U.S.-Mexico relations?
If chosen, Lake would replace U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar. According to a 2022 New York Times report, Salazar grew close to former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and “compromised U.S. interests.”
Christopher Landau, who was recently nominated as deputy secretary of state, was the ambassador to Mexico during Trump’s first term.
Lake previously claimed Gallego was “controlled” by the drug cartels. In an appearance on ABC’s “The View, Gallego addressed Lake’s attacks. He acknowledged his difficult childhood marked by a father who was a convicted drug dealer and who abandoned his family.
“I think what really hurt was the message it sends to some of these kids, especially these younger Latino kids who come from these types of families, who are trying to live the American dream, that no matter what you do, the sins of the father are going to follow.”
Could she be confirmed by the Senate?
To become ambassador, Lake would have to receive the Senate GOP’s support, including establishment Republicans, with whom she shares a tense relationship. She can only lose three votes.
Lake was allegedly in talks with Newsmax following her loss to Gallego, but both she and Newsmax denied the reports, as Phoenix New Times reported. Before launching her political career in 2021, Lake worked as a news anchor for Fox10.