Kari Lake at the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference

Arizona, once a deep-red state that was synonymous with the late GOP Sen. Barry Goldwater's conservatism, showed how much of a swing state it has become when, in 2024, it favored Donald Trump over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the presidential election but chose liberal now-Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, over far-right MAGA Republican Kari Lake in a U.S. Senate race. Gallego's victory marked the second time she lost a statewide race in Arizona; she ran for governor in 2022 and lost to Democratic now-Gov. Katie Hobbs.

After losing two statewide races, Lake swore off running for public office again. But President Donald Trump chose her for a behind-the-scenes position, and she is now a special adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) — which oversees Voice of America.

Lake favors aggressive downsizing to USAGM, but according to the Phoenix New Times' TJ L'Heureux, her "mass firings have drawn legal challenges."

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"Kari Lake is already the mortal enemy of facts," L'Heureux argues in an article published on August 16. "Now, she's also getting crosswise with the law. On Wednesday, (August 13), the Washington Post reported that Lake claimed in a court filing that she was just following Trump's orders when she put most of USAGM's 1300 employees and contractors on administrative leave — essentially paying them millions of dollars to do zero work. The Post also obtained documents showing congressional staffers for both Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz and GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham warned Lake via e-mail that she had violated the Anti-Deficiency Act by using congressionally approved funds to fire staff at Voice of America."

L'Heureux adds, "Schatz himself then sent Lake a letter telling her that she was violating the law…. Notably, the Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog agency, has now opened an investigation into Lake over the issue. However, even if the GAO found wrongdoing, it seems unlikely a Trump-controlled Department of Justice would do anything about it."

L'Heureux notes that according to ethics lawyers, Lake's actions at USAGM are legally problematic.

"According to U.S. law," the Phoenix New Times journalist explains, "an acting agency CEO must have acted as principal deputy of the CEO before the vacancy arose, already been confirmed to another position by the Senate or have been a senior agency official for 90 days prior. It also appears that Trump did not officially appoint Lake to the role. Richard Painter, (President George W.) Bush's chief White House ethics lawyer, told NPR he doesn't think Lake qualifies for the title. As a result, he said, Lake's self-aggrandizement may create an opening for the many VOA journalists currently suing her."

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Read TJ L'Heureux's full Phoenix New Times article at this link.