Weeks after Leavitt’s exit, Trump taps Katie Zacharia as new White House press secretary
WASHINGTON, DC: Over a month after former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt left her position to spend more time with her family and care for her newborn daughter, the Trump administration has reportedly selected a potential successor.
The announcement came after weeks of careful consideration of a pile of names, either pitched or speculated for the White House Press Secretary role.
Trump picks Katie Zacharia as new WH Press Sec
According to a report by The New York Times, published on Friday, Oct 9, the Trump administration has finalized Katie Zacharia as the new White House press secretary, succeeding one of the most popular White House press secretaries in history, Karoline Leavitt.
Zacharia is a conservative commentator and communications adviser for Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates Truth Social. She previously served as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and frequently appears on Fox News and Newsmax.
CNN’s Alayna Treene also reported on the development in a post on X.
“Trump in recent days called a number of his close allies and advisers to seek their opinion of Zacharia, Karoline Leavitt, a person familiar with the discussions told CNN,” Treene wrote on social media.
She currently works at Fix California, Trump special envoy Ric Grenell’s organization that promotes conservative causes in the state.
Zacharia left DHS after serving three months in early 2026, after Markwayne Mullin took over as the Secretary of the department.
She was reported to be close to then-Secretary Kristi Noem and her special adviser Corey Lewandowski.
Zacharia blamed the long commute from California for her departure from DHS. The commute time reportedly affected her family responsibilities; hence, she left the job to focus on family, similar to her predecessor, Karoline Leavitt.
Karoline Leavitt resigned as WH Press Secretary to focus on family
Karoline Leavitt left her job as White House Press Secretary at the end of August 2026 to spend more time with her family.
Leavitt stated that the decision was personal after giving birth to her second child in May 2026 and returning from a brief maternity leave.
She noted that balancing the intense, 24/7 demands of the position with raising two young children became too difficult.
Leavitt will be serving as a contributor to Fox News in her new role.
