Trump’s new press secretary is a familiar face on Fox News with deep MAGA ties

President Trump announced on Friday that he has chosen Katie Zacharia, a conservative commentator, lawyer and former Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, as his new press secretary. Zacharia replaces Karoline Leavitt, who left the administration in August.

Zacharia “has an unblemished record of support, and has been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning,” the president wrote on social media. “She is, likewise, a devoted fan and member of MAGA!”

Zacharia called the appointment “the honor of a lifetime” in a post on social media. 

To join the White House, Zacharia, 42, will exit her current role as senior communications adviser to Trump Media and Technology Group, which runs Truth Social. Before that, she served for about two months as a deputy assistant secretary and spokesperson for former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, according to her LinkedIn. Zacharia has also worked with Fix California, a nonprofit founded by former acting Kennedy Center director Ric Grenell to promote conservative policies in the Golden State. 

Zacharia is best known for her frequent appearances defending the administration’s policies on Fox News, CNN, Newsmax, One America News and other outlets. She told CNN in April — around the time she left DHS — that she’s a “huge fan of ICE and a big fan of the Border Patrol.”

In his announcement, Trump said that Zacharia was “involved in my Campaigns, assisting in key Swing States.” She wrote in a February New York Post column that she did “hard work helping flip Michigan red in Dearborn” in 2024. 

Zacharia is a California native and self-described “lifelong conservative” who holds both a law degree and a bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University in Malibu. She first came to Washington in 2006 to intern for the Republican National Committee while George W. Bush was president. She lives in California. 

Citing a source familiar with internal White House discussions, CNN reported on Friday that “Zacharia’s selection came about quickly” and that “she was not being considered for the role” as of “last week.” CNN also reported that “on multiple occasions, senior officials had narrowed down the list” of possible press secretaries “only to find that candidates had said something negative about the president, disqualifying them from the position.”

In her February New York Post column, Zacharia recounted a clash with liberal patrons of her “local cardio kickboxing gym” that ended with the gym owner asking her not to wear her red “Team Trump 2024” hat to exercise class.

“I responded that I would never take my Trump hat off to appease the left,” Zacharia wrote. “I refuse to stay silent. My constitutional rights aren’t negotiable. Tyranny thrives when good people lack courage.”