Trump picks conservative commentator Katie Zacharia as next White House press secretary
A White House official confirmed on Friday that Katie Zacharia has been offered the job, which Karoline Leavitt left at the end of August. It was unclear whether Zacharia has accepted.
The offer
A White House official confirmed on Friday, 9 October, that Katie Zacharia has been offered the position of White House press secretary. The New York Times first reported the selection. It was not immediately clear whether Zacharia has accepted the job, and she did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The BBC said it had contacted Zacharia for comment. If she accepts, she would fill the role before next month's midterm congressional elections.
Her background
Zacharia is a conservative commentator and a senior communications adviser for Truth Social and the Trump Media & Technology Group, according to her LinkedIn page. She briefly served as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security under Kristi Noem, departing in March. She has also been a commentator at Newsmax and has appeared on Fox News and Fox Business. Reuters reports that she previously worked as a legal adviser for Fix California, a conservative group founded by Richard Grenell. Grenell has served as Trump's envoy to Venezuela and is the interim president and executive director of the Kennedy Center in Washington. The BBC says Zacharia would become the president's sixth chief spokesperson across his two administrations.
Leavitt's exit and the timeline
Zacharia would succeed Karoline Leavitt, who left the role at the end of August after giving birth to her second child. Leavitt has taken a role with Maga Inc, a Super Pac aligned with Trump, and was this week chosen as a new Fox News commentator. The BBC reports that she has taken a job with Fox News. The sequence of recent moves in the press office is shown below.
- Katie Zacharia departs her role as a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson
- Karoline Leavitt leaves the White House press secretary role after giving birth to her second child
- A White House official confirms Zacharia has been offered the press secretary job
What remains open
The articles describe the announcement as breaking news and say updates would follow. Reuters and the BBC both report that Zacharia had not yet responded publicly to the offer when their stories were published. The key open question is whether she accepts the post ahead of the midterm elections.
