Trump names Katie Zacharia White House press secretary, replacing Karoline Leavitt

Trump names his pick

President Donald Trump announced on Friday, 9 October, that Katie Zacharia will become the White House press secretary, posting the decision on his Truth Social platform. A White House official had said the same day that Zacharia had been offered the position, and she had not immediately responded to a request for comment. Trump wrote that Zacharia had already worked on his election campaigns and described her as a devoted fan and integral part of the MAGA movement.

Her support has always been exemplary and she has been a loyal and brilliant ally from the start.

Trump also said he was confident that Zacharia would achieve strong results for the country in the post. Zacharia thanked him on social media and called the role a significant privilege.

Serving President Trump and the American people at this crucial time of the 250th anniversary is the honor of my life.

Filling a vacancy before the midterms

Karoline Leavitt stepped down in August, and the role has been largely unfilled since then. Reuters reports that Zacharia would fill the post before next month's midterm congressional elections. According to wnp.pl, regular press briefings had stopped, with five briefings held by senior officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance and Attorney General Todd Blanche. Frankfurter Allgemeine notes that the appointment comes at a time when the president struggles with poor approval ratings, which makes explaining his administration's policies more demanding.

Background at Homeland Security and Trump Media

Zacharia is a lawyer and political commentator who appears regularly on Fox News and Newsmax. According to her LinkedIn profile, she works as a senior communications adviser for Truth Social and Trump Media & Technology Group, a role La Repubblica says she has held since June. Reuters reports that she briefly served as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security before leaving in March, while 20minutes gives the period as February to April 2026. Earlier, she was a legal adviser to Fix California, a conservative group founded by Richard Grenell, who has served as Trump's envoy to Venezuela and is interim president of the Kennedy Center.

Friction inside the White House and with the press

wnp.pl, citing the New York Post, reports that Zacharia's hiring could complicate relations among Trump's closest advisers, because the circle around Corey Lewandowski is at odds with chief of staff Susie Wiles. Leavitt had criticized the traditional media while opening briefings to influencers and commentators friendly to Trump. Trump tried to exclude CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House, and a court ruling forced him to reverse that ban. The three outlets nonetheless remain without close access to the president, including in the Oval Office and on the presidential aircraft, and Zacharia will have to manage those relations while publicly defending the administration's decisions.