Trump picks Fox News expert for next White House press secretary

Washington: Donald Trump has chosen a conservative commentator to replace Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary.

Katie Zacharia, who often appears on Fox News as an expert on the Trump administration, will replace Leavitt following her departure from the role in August.

Zacharia is currently a senior communications adviser to Trump Media and Technology Group, the president’s US media company, which owns his Truth Social platform.

She had a brief stint working as a spokesman for Kristi Noem, then secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), who earned the nickname “ICE Barbie” for her frequent photo opportunities alongside immigration agents.

Zacharia was reportedly hired to act as the face of the embattled DHS following deadly shootings of two anti-ICE protesters that stoked widespread backlash.

The 41-year-old from Los Angeles, California, only worked for Noem for six weeks until March 2026.

At the time, Zacharia denied reports in the Daily Beast that she had left because she was an ally of Corey Lewandowski, Noem’s chief adviser. Trump had fired both Noem and Mr Lewandowski just weeks earlier.

Following her exit from the DHS in March, Zacharia said that she had joined the department “with a genuine passion for supporting [Mr Trump]” and looked forward “to continuing that work in other capacities”.

Zacharia’s pick as the US president’s top press liaison marks another promotion by Trump based on on-air loyalty to the administration.

In a post on Truth Social on Friday, the president praised her for her “unblemished record of support”, saying she had “been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning”.

“She is, likewise, a devoted fan and member of MAGA!” Trump said, adding that he was “confident that Katie will deliver strong results for our Country as the next White House Press Secretary”.

Leavitt, who was in post for a year and a half, earned a reputation as Trump’s “machine gun” for her vociferous defence of the US president. She will launch her own channel on Fox News next month, the network announced on Monday.

Other aides propelled into Trump’s inner circle include Natalie Harp, a former TV anchor for the right-wing One America News Network, known for her feverish loyalty to the president.

Zacharia has her own profile on the Trumpettes USA website, a grassroots political organisation made up of women who support Mr Trump. It lists her as a legal and business professional with expertise in US corporate law and political advocacy, and says she enjoys “family, fitness, politics, and Southern California adventures alongside her husband and four beloved children”.

The new White House press secretary’s LinkedIn profile also states that she is a general counsel at Fix California, a conservative activist group founded by Richard Grenell, Trump’s presidential envoy for special missions.

She attended the Caruso School of Law and Seaver College, both part of Pepperdine University in California, where she served as president of both the Christian Legal Society and College Republicans, an online profile said.

Zacharia lives in the affluent Westlake Village suburb in California with her husband, Tyler Zacharia, a film production executive, and four children.

Her selection as Trump’s pick to face the press comes at a time of heightened animosity between the US president and the media, and as the midterm elections loom. Trump banned three media outlets from the White House grounds in September, triggering a week-long boycott of the administration by US broadcasters.

The ban was overturned after the outlets – CNN, MS Now and Politico – sued the administration and a federal judge forced them to be allowed back into the White House. But tensions remain high, with Trump subsequently barring CNN from travelling with him on Air Force One and a Politico journalist being excluded from a pool rotation on the president’s trip to Nebraska on Monday.

The Telegraph, London

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