--- title: Trump Taps Katie Zacharia as Next White House Press Secretary description: Zacharia, a conservative commentator, will succeed Karoline Leavitt in the position. 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: 2026-10-09T18:46:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-09T21:05:34.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Taps Katie Zacharia as Next White House Press Secretary og:description: Zacharia, a conservative commentator, will succeed Karoline Leavitt in the position. 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: Trump Taps Katie Zacharia as Next White House Press Secretary twitter:description: Zacharia, a conservative commentator, will succeed Karoline Leavitt in the position. 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 ---  # Trump Taps Katie Zacharia to Replace Karoline Leavitt as White House Press Secretary > Sponsored content. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=465d5527-34ac-45a7-a5be-51e48f494994&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/) and [Connor Greene](https://time.com/author/connor-greene/) Updated: Oct 9, 2026 9:05 PM UTCPublished: 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/) Updated: Oct 9, 2026 9:05 PM UTCPublished: Oct 9, 2026 6:46 PM UTC President Donald Trump has selected conservative commentator Katie Zacharia to serve as the [next White House press secretary](https://time.com/article/2026/08/12/Karoline-Leavitt-to-step-down-white-house-press-secretary-Donald-Trump/), he announced Friday. Zacharia will 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. Zacharia currently works as a communications adviser at Trump Media and Technology Group, the company that runs Trump’s social media platform Truth Social. 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. Zacharia [wrote](https://x.com/katiezacharia/status/2108660604181618818?s=46) on X that being selected as White House press secretary was “the honor of a lifetime” and vowed to “\[communicate\] to the American people the major wins that this Administration is making every single day.” It is not clear when Zacharia will start her new role. The Trump Administration, which often refers to itself as the “most transparent” in history, has not held a formal press briefing in 36 days, since Vice President J.D. Vance took to the briefing room in early September. In a [post on Truth Social](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117412672479473994) announcing his selection, Trump praised Zacharia for “an unblemished record of support” and being “a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning.” “She is, likewise, a devoted fan and member of MAGA!” Trump continued. “I am confident that Katie will deliver strong results for our Country as the next White House Press Secretary, as she has the respect of, and will work fantastically with, the Media, the American People, and my Administration.” [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. Zacharia, who currently lives in California and graduated from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, has also worked as a general counsel for almost three years at Fix California, a conservative non-profit founded by Ric Grenell, who served as Acting Director of National Intelligence during Trump’s first Administration. The organization works to promote a conservative agenda around the state. In June, Zacharia was appointed to the advisory board of NovaRed Mining Inc, a Canadian mining company based in Vancouver, according to a company [announcement](https://novaredmining.com/news/novared-appoints-katie-zacharia-to-the-advisory-board). Just a week before Zacharia’s appointment, Noem also [joined](https://novaredmining.com/news/secretary-kristi-l.-noem-joins-novared-mining-advisory-board) the advisory board. Leavitt, who became the youngest White House press secretary in history at the age of 27, this week joined Fox News as an on-air contributor, the network announced on Monday. She is the third of Trump’s former press secretaries to join the network. She begins on Nov. 1. Trump [announced](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117084211457388624) Leavitt’s departure through a Truth Social post in which he said that she “will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the Midterm Elections.” Leavitt responded with a lengthy [post](https://x.com/karolineleavitt/status/2087625708554100999) on X in which she thanked the President and the White House and said that she would remain “a vocal advocate for MAGA and the Republican Party. ” Leavitt gave birth to her second child, Viviana, in May. She went on maternity leave that month and later announced that she would be stepping down from her role to spend more time with her family. Trump’s time in office has been characterized by a contentious relationship with the media, which he has repeatedly attacked and derided while serving as President. Leavitt echoed that attitude during her time behind the podium, becoming known for her acerbic remarks and quick deflections during press briefings. Zacharia will enter the White House during a fight over the media’s access to the President. Trump on Sept. 18 [banned](https://time.com/article/2026/09/18/trump-bans-3-news-organizations-from-white-house/) POLITICO, CNN, and MS NOW from the White House grounds, sparking an ongoing legal battle. Though the outlets’ access to the White House has been [restored](https://time.com/article/2026/09/24/judge-overturns-trump-white-house-media-ban-temporary-order-appeal/) after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against the ban, Trump has since restricted POLITICO and CNN from [boarding](https://time.com/article/2026/10/05/politico-white-house-pool-air-force-one-trump-media-ban/) Air Force One, preventing them from carrying out their White House pool duties and drawing further blowback. Zacharia would also be entering the White House at a time when Trump is facing record-low approval ratings over his handling of the war in Iran, which has contributed to rising inflation in the U.S., and as the fast-approaching November midterms threaten Republicans’ control over both chambers of Congress. ```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":"Trump Taps Katie Zacharia to Replace Karoline Leavitt as White House Press Secretary","datePublished":"2026-10-09T18:46:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-09T21:05:34.000Z","description":"Zacharia, a conservative commentator, will succeed Karoline Leavitt in the position.","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/10/09/katie-zacharia-white-house-press-secretary-leavitt-trump/","keywords":["Trump Administration","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ba34641613208aa/6ac93529333384b6ac046fef/GettyImages-2251917913.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nik Popli","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/nik-popli/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Connor Greene","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/connor-greene/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ba34641613208aa/6ac93529333384b6ac046fef/GettyImages-2251917913.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-2251917913.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"Terry Wyatt—Getty Images for 2521 Entertainment and Angel Studios","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/trump-administration/","name":"Trump Administration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/10/09/katie-zacharia-white-house-press-secretary-leavitt-trump/","name":"Trump Taps Katie Zacharia to Replace Karoline Leavitt as White House Press Secretary"}}]}] ```