Trump Names Katie Zacharia as White House Press Secretary, Replacing Karoline Leavitt
President Donald Trump has selected conservative commentator Katie Zacharia to become the next White House press secretary, bringing a familiar face from conservative media and his own media company into one of the administration’s most visible communications roles.
Trump announced the appointment Friday, Oct. 9, after reports initially indicated that Zacharia had been offered the position. She will succeed Karoline Leavitt, who left the role in August following the birth of her second child. Zacharia has worked as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security and as a communications adviser to Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social.
The appointment returns Zacharia to the White House after a brief stint at DHS earlier this year. It also places a political communications professional with experience in conservative television and Republican politics at the center of the administration’s daily exchanges with reporters.
Trump Selects Former DHS Spokesperson for Top Communications Role
Zacharia previously served in a communications role at the Department of Homeland Security, where she worked for several months before leaving in March. She later worked as a senior communications adviser for Trump Media & Technology Group.
She has also appeared regularly on Fox News and other conservative media outlets, building a public profile as a defender of Republican priorities and the Trump administration.
Trump praised Zacharia after announcing his selection, describing her as a loyal supporter and expressing confidence in her ability to communicate the administration’s agenda. Zacharia said she looked forward to working with the White House press corps and reporters across the country.
Her background combines political advocacy, communications work and media appearances—experience that will be central to a job requiring frequent public briefings and responses to questions about administration policy.
Why Karoline Leavitt Left the White House
Leavitt’s departure in August created the vacancy Zacharia is set to fill.
Leavitt had served as Trump’s press secretary during the early part of his second term. She left after the birth of her second child in May, saying she wanted to devote more time to her family.
Trump publicly supported her decision, and Leavitt subsequently joined Fox News as an on-air contributor. Her departure ended a high-profile tenure in which she regularly defended the president’s policies and challenged reporters during White House briefings.
The press secretary’s role is among the administration’s most visible positions. It involves conducting televised briefings, communicating policy decisions, responding to questions from journalists and representing the president’s positions during breaking news events.
Zacharia’s Republican Political Background
Zacharia’s involvement in Republican politics predates her recent work for Trump.
She attended Pepperdine University and has described a political career that includes Republican National Committee experience and work in the White House Office of Political Affairs during President George W. Bush’s administration.
She has also been associated with Fix California, a conservative organization founded by Richard Grenell, a longtime Trump ally who has held senior roles in the president’s political and diplomatic orbit.
More recently, her work with Trump Media & Technology Group placed her within the president’s broader communications network. The company operates Truth Social, where Trump frequently publishes political statements and announcements.
That combination of campaign, media and government experience distinguishes Zacharia’s professional background as she prepares to take on the press secretary role.
Connections Within Trump’s Political Circle Draw Attention
Zacharia’s previous work also connects her to figures who have relationships with senior members of Trump’s administration.
Her association with Grenell and her time at DHS have drawn attention because of reported disagreements among some Trump allies and White House officials. The New York Post reported that Grenell and Corey Lewandowski have had longstanding tensions with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Such reports describe internal political relationships, rather than establishing how those relationships will affect Zacharia’s performance in the new job.
The White House has not publicly indicated that those reported tensions will shape her responsibilities. Her immediate task will be to communicate administration policy and manage the daily relationship between the White House and the press corps.
What the Appointment Means for White House Communications
The appointment gives the administration a press secretary whose professional background spans conservative commentary, Republican political work and communications for Trump’s media company.
That experience could prove relevant in a role where the administration seeks to communicate its priorities while responding to scrutiny over its decisions. The position also requires the press secretary to handle questions on issues that may not be central to the administration’s preferred messaging.
Zacharia will inherit a briefing room in which exchanges between White House officials and journalists have frequently been contentious. How she approaches those interactions, including the frequency and format of briefings and her responses to difficult questions, will become clearer as she begins the job.
For now, the transition marks another change in the personnel responsible for explaining Trump’s policies to the public. Zacharia’s appointment follows Leavitt’s departure and brings a former DHS spokesperson and Trump Media adviser into the administration’s principal public-facing communications position.
Benjamin Harris is a RapidReports front page contributor and editor,proud father of four.
