Arizona Republican Kari Lake is reportedly a front-runner to become the next U.S. ambassador to Mexico in the incoming Trump administration.
Lake unsuccessfully ran for governor of Arizona in 2022 before mounting a failed Senate campaign in the state this year. A Semafor report revealed Monday that she is under President-elect Donald Trump’s consideration to represent the United States in Mexico, a country that will play a pivotal role in Republicans’ plans for immigration reform.
If Trump taps her for the diplomatic position, Lake would be an instrumental voice in leading negotiations with Mexico surrounding Republicans’ goal of securing the U.S.-Mexico border and stopping the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S.
Lake and Trump officials did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment.
A strong Trump ally, Lake lost her race to become Arizona’s chief executive two years ago to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) by just over 17,000 votes. Lake refused to concede the loss, challenging the results in the Arizona Supreme Court. Earlier this month, the state’s high court rejected her appeal.
Lake’s court defeat came just days before she was determined to have narrowly lost a Senate race to Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).
A new diplomatic role would score a political comeback for the Arizona Republican, although it promises to bring challenges for whoever fills the position.
Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum have already begun to spar over immigration policy ahead of his inauguration.
The president-elect promised earlier this month to put massive tariffs on Mexico on all goods moving across the southern border “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country.”
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Trump has already made nominations to several high-level diplomatic roles since he won a second term on Nov. 5. His nominations include Christopher Landau, the former ambassador to Mexico, to be the next deputy secretary of state.
All diplomatic nominees will work closely with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) if he is confirmed by the Senate as Trump’s secretary of state.