WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he wants his ally Kari Lake to be the next director of Voice of America, a federal network that is part of the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

In his post on Truth Social, Trump said Lake would be nominated by the next head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, a choice he would announce “soon.”

Trump said Lake will “ensure that American values ​​of freedom and freedom are spread FAIRLY and ACCURATELY around the world, unlike the lies spread by the fake news media.”

VOA officials did not immediately respond to questions about the procedures for nominating and approving a new director, as well as what Trump’s announcement might mean for the hiring of the current director, Michael Abramowitz.

Previously, Lake worked as an Arizona news anchor for KSAZ, the Phoenix Fox News affiliate, for more than 20 years. In the years since she left the news industry, she made failed bids for both governor and senator of Arizona.

During the election campaign, Lake positioned herself as a loyal ally of Trump and a harsh critic of the industry she once belonged to. Lake derided journalists as “fake news” and said during the Republican National Convention that they had “overstayed their welcome.” She attempted to discredit reporters by arguing that journalists have “spent the last eight years lying about President Donald Trump,” using a baseless right-wing claim.

Lake has also joined debunked voter denialism of the 2020 election and made false claims that the 2022 governor’s race was stolen from her.

According to the channel’s website, VOA has a wide international reach, with a global weekly audience of approximately 326 million people and programming in 48 languages.

The outlet also emphasizes a “firewall” that, according to VOA’s website, “prohibits interference by U.S. government officials in the objective, independent reporting of news, thereby protecting the ability of our journalists to develop content that meets the highest professional standards of journalism.” “Comply, free from any kind of political interference.”

Trump had previously come under fire for his appointment of Michael Pack to head the U.S. Agency for Global Media in 2020. Pack was accused of undermining the independence of the networks he monitored.