Donald Trump has named conservative commentator Katie Zacharia, a former Homeland Security spokesperson under Kristi Noem, as White House press secretary, filling the post left vacant by Karoline Leavitt’s resignation.
Zacharia, a lawyer and frequent guest on Fox News and Newsmax, lasted just six weeks as a DHS spokeswoman earlier this year before abruptly walking out of the job in March.
She has since been working as a communications adviser to Trump Media and Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, and was picked for the podium by Trump on Friday, according to The New York Times.
Leavitt quit at the end of August to spend more time with her two young children, leaving the briefing room without a permanent face for more than a month. Trump consulted Leavitt personally before settling on Zacharia for the role, according to CNN.
Zacharia reportedly met with Trump on Friday morning, just hours before word of her appointment leaked.
Before her name surfaced, a long list of MAGA-friendly media figures had been floated for the job, among them CNN commentator Scott Jennings, ex-Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, and former Trump lawyer Alina Habba.
Zacharia earned her undergraduate degree at Pepperdine’s Seaver College before going on to its Caruso School of Law, then launched a career in corporate and political advocacy.
Her exit from DHS was shrouded in controversy, with reports she was pushed out over her close ties to Corey Lewandowski, Noem’s DHS adviser and rumored lover.
Zacharia, a lawyer and frequent guest on Fox News and Newsmax, lasted just six weeks as a DHS spokeswoman earlier this year before abruptly walking out of the job in March
She has since been working as a communications adviser to Trump Media and Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social
She is married to Hollywood producer Tyler Zacharia pictured above
Leavitt quit at the end of August to spend more time with her two young children, leaving the briefing room without a permanent face for more than a month
Zacharia, at the time, flatly denied that account, claiming she stepped away because constant travel between Washington and her home in California was too hard on her family.
The Daily Mail has contacted Zacharia for comment.
Zacharia becomes the seventh woman in a row to hold the press secretary job, a streak that stretches back to Sean Spicer.
Her appointment could rattle the White House press shop given her close ties to Lewandowski, who has a longstanding feud with chief of staff Susie Wiles.
She first started in politics as a college intern for the Republican National Committee. She later worked in the White House Office of Political Affairs during the Bush administration.
Zacharia’s tenure starts just weeks before contentious midterm elections in which polling suggests Republicans could lose their majorities in the House and Senate amid voter anxiety over the cost of living.
She is married to Tyler Zacharia, a Hollywood producer, and the couple have four children.
