Kari Lake, U.S. President Trump’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Jamaica, participates in a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee nominations hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
President Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador to Jamaica, Kari Lake, refused to retract a false claim about Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) during her Thursday confirmation hearing.
During her Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) confronted Lake over her 2024 campaign smear against Gallego, during which she accused Arizona's Senator of being "controlled by the cartels."
PolitiFact rated this claim as "pants on fire."
Gallego, a former House member, was running against her for Senate at the time.
Kaine pressed on, but Lake claimed she had provided receipts, pointing to Gallego's father's criminal history.
Kaine countered, arguing there was no evidence linking Gallego to cartels.
Kaine demanded an apology, but Lake answered, "I don't believe my charge was wrong."
Virginia's Democratic Senator revealed Lake repeated the accusation after the campaign ended, posting at 2:35 a.m., "You are a member of a Mexican cartel family. You are also a fraud! No one is surprised by your take."
Lake maintained her position throughout the confrontation, refusing to acknowledge the debunked nature of her allegations.
Watch the video below.