# Katie Zacharia Named **White House Press Secretary on 9 October 2026**, announced by [[Donald Trump]] in a [[Truth Social]] post calling her "a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning." She succeeds [[Karoline Leavitt]], who left the post in August 2026. **No start date was announced.** She came to the job from [[Trump Media and Technology Group]], where she was a senior communications adviser, and before that from the Department of Homeland Security, where she worked in public affairs as a deputy assistant secretary and then as the department's spokesperson under [[Kristi Noem]]. She has also been general counsel of Fix California, the conservative nonprofit founded by Richard "Ric" Grenell, and a commentator on [[Fox News]] and [[Newsmax]]. Pepperdine University, where she took a political-science degree in 2007 and a J.D. in 2011, lists her as a former director of development for special projects there from 2023 to 2025 and a member of the Caruso School of Law Dean's Council. ## Why It Matters Here The appointment is a straightforward read on where this White House now sources its public voice: **the president's own media company**. The communications chair has been filled from inside Trump Media rather than from the campaign or the party apparatus, which is a different thing from the Leavitt hire and worth tracking as a pattern rather than an anecdote. The vacancy it fills had been open for weeks. Press reporting at the time of the announcement noted the administration had not held a formal press briefing in 36 days — since the vice president took questions in early September. A press-secretary appointment that follows a five-week briefing blackout is better understood as a decision about whether to resume briefings at all than as a personnel move. > [!warning] Unresolved > Her reported tenure at Fix California does not reconcile across sources — TIME has "almost three years," ABC has "since 2024." No duration is stated above. Her age is reported as 41 by a single outlet and is likewise omitted. ## See Also - [[Karoline Leavitt]] — her predecessor - [[Donald Trump]] · [[Truth Social]] — where the appointment was announced - [[Trump Media and Technology Group]] — her employer before the appointment - [[Kristi Noem]] — the cabinet secretary she served as spokesperson