Donald Trump Appoints Katie Zacharia as White House Press Secretary

President Donald Trump appointed conservative commentator and lawyer Katie Zacharia as the new White House press secretary on October 9, 2026. Zacharia, who previously served as a senior communications adviser at Trump Media & Technology Group and as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, succeeds Karoline Leavitt. Leavitt departed the role in August to spend more time with her family and is scheduled to join Fox News as a contributor on November 1.

Zacharia is set to officially begin her term on Monday, October 13, and will hold an introductory news conference on Tuesday at 9:30 A.M. in the White House Press Briefing Room. Trump praised Zacharia as a "loyal and brilliant supporter" who assisted his campaigns in key swing states. In her first public remarks, Zacharia stated that the role is "not about me" but about how the president communicates with the American people.

The appointment triggered an investigation by Kalshi Exchange Inc. into suspicious trades that correctly predicted Zacharia's selection despite her having only a 1 percent chance of securing the role on the platform. Additionally, reports from several news outlets uncovered past social media posts in which Zacharia promoted debunked conspiracy theories, including Pizzagate and QAnon, and made claims regarding medical misinformation. The White House has referred inquiries about these posts to the president's official appointment announcement.