President Donald Trump has chosen a new face to stand at the White House podium. Conservative commentator Katie Zacharia will replace Karoline Leavitt as press secretary, Trump confirmed on Friday. The announcement came earlier than many in Washington expected, and it puts a relatively little-known name at the center of one of the most scrutinized jobs in American politics.
How the Announcement Happened
The New York Times was first to report the selection. Trump then confirmed it himself on Truth Social, writing that it was his “Great Honor” to have appointed Zacharia.
In the same post, he praised her loyalty. He said she has been a loyal and brilliant supporter from the beginning and called her a devoted member of MAGA. He also told reporters on the South Lawn, as he left for a campaign rally in New York, that he thinks she is going to be “terrific.”
Zacharia responded on X, saying serving Trump and the American people at this “critical 250-year mark” is the honor of a lifetime. She added that she looks forward to working with the press corps and reporters across the country. It is still unclear when she will officially start.
Why the Job Was Open
Leavitt’s exit set all of this in motion. Trump announced over the summer that she would leave at the end of August to spend more time with her young children. Leavitt, who became the youngest White House press secretary in history at 27, has since joined Fox News as an on-air contributor.
Several names circulated in the weeks after she left. They included Scott Jennings, Alina Habba, Jason Miller and deputy press secretary Anna Kelly. Zacharia was not the name most commentators were repeating, which makes the choice more notable.
Who Is Katie Zacharia?
Zacharia is 41 years old, according to the Daily Beast. She lives in California and completed both her undergraduate and law degrees at Pepperdine University in Malibu. Pepperdine says she graduated in 2007 with a political science degree and earned her JD in 2011. She now sits on the Dean’s Council at the university’s law school.
Politics came early. As an undergraduate, she interned for the Republican National Committee and worked in the White House Office of Political Affairs during George W. Bush’s second term. After law school, she worked abroad at a law firm in Beijing and for an organization that cared for children of migrant workers. She lived in China from 2011 to 2013 with her husband, Tyler.
Back in the United States, she moved between law, advocacy and media. She served as general counsel for the nonprofit Fix California. She became a Newsmax commentator in 2024 and has appeared as a guest on Fox News. The Daily Beast reports she also worked as the RNC’s press secretary in 2024. Trump says she helped his campaigns in key swing states before joining the administration.
She has also been outspoken about her politics in public. Earlier this year she wrote a New York Post op-ed about wearing a MAGA hat to her local gym, and said she would never take it off to appease the left.
On the personal side, she has four children. Her husband, Tyler Zacharia, has executive produced films including The Irishman and Roofman.
Her Short Stint at DHS
Her most recent government experience was brief. She took a spokesperson and deputy assistant secretary role at the Department of Homeland Security in mid-February. She was brought in after Tricia McLaughlin announced her departure.
She did not stay long. She left after about six weeks, saying she wanted to keep supporting Trump’s policies “in other capacities.” She told Just the News that regular travel to and from California strained her family.
The exit drew some controversy. The Daily Beast reported her close ties to Corey Lewandowski were behind it. Zacharia denied that, saying she first met Lewandowski, then-Secretary Kristi Noem and McLaughlin at a February 2026 meeting about a media role.
After DHS, she moved into the private sector. She is currently senior communications adviser for Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social. At DHS she had worked under Lauren Bis, who is now the White House’s senior deputy press secretary. That connection means she will likely return to a familiar working relationship.
Timing will test her. Trump faces serious political headwinds less than a month before the midterm elections. Time notes she is also arriving in the middle of a fight over the media’s access to the president.
The tone of her first briefings will matter. In her own words, she plans to communicate the “major wins” the administration is making every day. Whether that approach leaves room for hard questions from a skeptical press room is something reporters will be watching closely.
Her critics have already started to weigh in. The Daily Beast ran its coverage with a pointed nickname in its headline. Supporters see a loyal communicator with TV experience, legal training and campaign credentials. Both reactions suggest she will start the job under intense attention.
