According to a report by The Washington Post on October 10th, U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Friday that he has appointed Katie Zacharia to replace Karoline Leavitt as the White House press secretary.
Earlier this year, when Kristie Nomm was coming to an end of her tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security, Zakaria served as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security for several months.
Zakaria is a lawyer and also the mother of four children. She frequently appears on conservative television shows and currently serves as a senior communications advisor for Trump's Media and Technology Group.
Trump wrote on the "Real Social Media" platform: "Her record of support is impeccable; she has been a loyal and outstanding supporter from the beginning. She is also a staunch supporter and member of the 'Make America Great Again' movement!"
Zakaria was previously a conservative commentator for Fox News and Newsmax television. She also served as the Director of Development Affairs at Pepperdine University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree and a law degree.
She revealed in a podcast that after graduation, she went to Beijing and stayed there for three years, working as a legal counsel for a company, and serving as the external legal advisor for the World Bank and the International Financial Corporation (IFC). It took her about six months to adjust to life in the local area and to fall in love with it.
A person familiar with the job offer revealed that Zacharia lives in California. She visited the White House twice, two weeks ago and last week, and met with Trump during her visit last week. This person also said that during the summer, when Trump was in the American West Coast, he saw Zacharia perform on television and sent her a text message to congratulate her.
A person familiar with this appointment said that although Zakaria is not a regular figure in Washington politics, she is quite well-known among Trump's circle of friends, and fits the ideal image of someone who would be suitable for this position in Trump's mind. He also added that Zakaria ‘is simply the person chosen for this role.’
Zakaria has long-term relationships with several close advisors to Trump, including Zhang Zhenxi, the director of the White House Communications Office. During her time in the Department of Homeland Security, she also worked closely with Lauren Beise, who was then the assistant secretary and now serves as the senior deputy press secretary for the White House.
It is expected that Zacarias will be able to communicate directly with the president, just like Levitt. Trump believes that this makes the position of White House press secretary particularly important.
Levyte was involved in Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and later became the first White House press secretary for Trump’s second term. She has become a close and trusted advisor to Trump, but decided to leave her position after giving birth to a daughter in May this year. This is Levyte’s second child in two years.
