Key takeaways:
- White House officials said Zacharia has been offered the press secretary role, but her acceptance and start date have not been confirmed.
- Zacharia advises Trump Media & Technology Group and briefly worked as a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson earlier this year.
- She would replace Karoline Leavitt, who left the White House in late August and has been hired by Fox News as an on-air contributor.
President Donald Trump has offered conservative commentator Katie Zacharia the job of White House press secretary, according to White House officials cited by the BBC and CBS News. It was not immediately clear whether she had accepted the offer, and no start date has been announced.
Zacharia would replace Karoline Leavitt, who left the White House in late August. The Guardian reported that Leavitt departed after the birth of her second child. Fox News announced this week that it had hired Leavitt as an on-air contributor, according to NBC News.
The New York Times first reported the selection. Two White House officials and a person familiar with the decision told NBC News that Zacharia was expected to be named to the post. A White House official told CBS News on Friday that she had been offered the role, but the White House did not confirm whether she had accepted. Zacharia has not publicly commented, CBS reported, and the BBC said it had contacted her for comment.
Zacharia currently works as a senior communications adviser for Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs Trump’s Truth Social platform. According to her LinkedIn profile, she has worked for the company since June, the BBC reported. Earlier this year, she briefly worked as a spokesperson at the Department of Homeland Security. The BBC said her stint there lasted from February to March.
She is a frequent guest on conservative television programs, including Fox News, Fox Business and Newsmax. NBC News reported that she also often defends the Trump administration on her X account. If she takes the job, she would become Trump’s sixth chief spokesperson across his two administrations, according to the BBC.
The position involves more than delivering briefings. The press secretary manages relations with reporters, coordinates with other parts of the White House, advises the president on media matters and oversees an office that handles a large volume of daily inquiries and requests, the BBC reported. CBS News said the White House briefing room had not hosted a press briefing since Sept. 3, when Vice President JD Vance took reporters’ questions.
Zacharia lives in California and has four children, according to NBC News. She earned a law degree from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law and serves on its dean’s council. CBS News reported that she also completed her undergraduate degree at Pepperdine University.
In an op-ed for the New York Post earlier this year, Zacharia wrote that the owner of her local gym asked her to stop wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. “I responded that I would never take my Trump hat off to appease the left,” she wrote. “Freedom of speech doesn’t evaporate at the gym door.”
Be First to Comment