Katie Zacharia will be the next White House press secretary

WASHINGTON — Conservative commentator Katie Zacharia is expected to be named the next White House press secretary, replacing Karoline Leavitt, two White House officials and a source familiar with the decision told NBC News.

Zacharia currently serves as a senior communications adviser for Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs President Donald Trump’s Truth Social website. She also briefly worked for the Department of Homeland Security in a communications role earlier this year, according to her LinkedIn profile.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCentrist think tank warns 2028 Democrats against swinging too far left on immigration

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRussia’s secrecy after a mysterious plague lab death raises global alarm

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAfter surviving a botched lethal injection, Christa Pike faces unprecedented legal battle

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHunger in a land of plenty: Major food banks face ‘heartbreaking’ need, NBC News survey finds

FOR SUBSCRIBERSInflation and tariffs push U.S. holiday spending projections to a record $1.7 trillion

FOR SUBSCRIBERSWhat happened inside the room where officials tried to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow we reported the saga of the CIA officer and his gold-bar stash

FOR SUBSCRIBERSBrad Raffensperger gears up to oversee his final election in Georgia

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDiddy is punished following NBC News report on his VIP life in prison and contraband cellphone use

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Too young to vote, old enough to be tear gassed’: French protesters’ anger swells

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDOJ gets aggressive in suing states that challenge Trump’s immigration policies

FOR SUBSCRIBERSJustice Department seeks criminal charge for former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘I just want to hold him’: USS Lincoln sailor to meet his 10-month-old son as ship docks

FOR SUBSCRIBERSSenate candidates run on raising Social Security taxes for higher incomes to prevent benefit cuts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRussian operation that used ChatGPT tricked schools, a politician and media, OpenAI says

Slide 1 of 1

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCentrist think tank warns 2028 Democrats against swinging too far left on immigration

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRussia’s secrecy after a mysterious plague lab death raises global alarm

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAfter surviving a botched lethal injection, Christa Pike faces unprecedented legal battle

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHunger in a land of plenty: Major food banks face ‘heartbreaking’ need, NBC News survey finds

FOR SUBSCRIBERSInflation and tariffs push U.S. holiday spending projections to a record $1.7 trillion

FOR SUBSCRIBERSWhat happened inside the room where officials tried to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow we reported the saga of the CIA officer and his gold-bar stash

FOR SUBSCRIBERSBrad Raffensperger gears up to oversee his final election in Georgia

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDiddy is punished following NBC News report on his VIP life in prison and contraband cellphone use

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Too young to vote, old enough to be tear gassed’: French protesters’ anger swells

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDOJ gets aggressive in suing states that challenge Trump’s immigration policies

FOR SUBSCRIBERSJustice Department seeks criminal charge for former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘I just want to hold him’: USS Lincoln sailor to meet his 10-month-old son as ship docks

FOR SUBSCRIBERSSenate candidates run on raising Social Security taxes for higher incomes to prevent benefit cuts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRussian operation that used ChatGPT tricked schools, a politician and media, OpenAI says

Slide 1 of 1

The New York Times was first to report the selection.

She will replace Leavitt, who left the White House in late August. Fox News announced this week that it had hired Leavitt as an on-air contributor.

Trump, of late, has complained that his accomplishments are being overshadowed ahead of the midterm elections because of poor public relations efforts.

“Our country has never done better. We cannot get the word across because of the fake news and because ... we’re doing a great job in running the country, but we’re not doing a good job of public relations,” he said at a rally in Durant, Oklahoma, last week.

The day before that, at a Hispanic Heritage Month event in the East Room, Trump acknowledged that he has done a bad job of discussing how “well” the country is doing.

“I’ve done a very bad job of explaining how, how good the country is doing,” he said, later adding: “We’re doing an extremely poor job of promotion, and an extremely great job of running the country.”

Trump has yet to say anything publicly about Zacharia’s expected role. Her start date and other details have yet to be announced.

She is a regular presence on conservative media, including appearances on Fox News, Fox Business and Newsmax, and she often defends the Trump administration on her X account.

Zacharia lives in California and has four children. She earned a law degree from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law and serves as a member of its dean’s council.