--- title: White House Taps Katie Zacharia as Next Press Secretary description: Zacharia would succeed Karoline Leavitt in the position. It is not yet clear whether she has accepted the offer. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/10/09/katie-zacharia-white-house-press-secretary-leavitt-trump/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-10-09T18:46:53.266Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-09T18:46:53.463Z article:section: Politics og:title: White House Taps Katie Zacharia as Next Press Secretary og:description: Zacharia would succeed Karoline Leavitt in the position. It is not yet clear whether she has accepted the offer. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/10/09/katie-zacharia-white-house-press-secretary-leavitt-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ba34641613208aa/6ac93529333384b6ac046fef/GettyImages-2251917913.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1479 og:image:height: 832 og:image:alt: GettyImages-2251917913.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: White House Taps Katie Zacharia as Next Press Secretary twitter:description: Zacharia would succeed Karoline Leavitt in the position. It is not yet clear whether she has accepted the offer. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ba34641613208aa/6ac93529333384b6ac046fef/GettyImages-2251917913.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White House Taps Katie Zacharia to Replace Karoline Leavitt as Press Secretary > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=b21193ea-34e7-4f34-ab65-8f0c2abbb55c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/) and [Connor Greene](https://time.com/author/connor-greene/) Oct 9, 2026 6:46 PM UTC  Terry Wyatt—Getty Images for 2521 Entertainment and Angel Studios by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/) and [Connor Greene](https://time.com/author/connor-greene/) Oct 9, 2026 6:46 PM UTC The White House has selected conservative commentator Katie Zacharia to serve as the [next press secretary](https://time.com/article/2026/08/12/Karoline-Leavitt-to-step-down-white-house-press-secretary-Donald-Trump/), a White House official has confirmed to TIME. Zacharia would replace [Karoline Leavitt](https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318825/karoline-leavitt/), who [stepped down](https://time.com/article/2026/08/12/karoline-leavitt-white-house-press-secretary-memorable-moments/) in August, in the position. It is not yet clear whether she has accepted the offer. Zacharia currently works as a communications adviser at Trump Media and Technology Group, the company that runs President Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, according to her LinkedIn profile. She previously worked at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a spokesperson for former Secretary Kristi Noem, and appears frequently on conservative media including Fox News and Newsmax. [The New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/us/politics/katie-zacharia-trump-white-house-press-secretary.html) first reported that Zacharia had been tapped by the White House. _This is a developing story and will be updated._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/10/09/katie-zacharia-white-house-press-secretary-leavitt-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/10/09/katie-zacharia-white-house-press-secretary-leavitt-trump/"},"headline":"White House Taps Katie Zacharia to Replace Karoline Leavitt as Press Secretary","datePublished":"2026-10-09T18:46:53.266Z","dateModified":"2026-10-09T18:46:53.463Z","description":"Zacharia would succeed Karoline Leavitt in the position. 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