Katie Zacharia holds first briefing as White House press secretary

Right · 2Katie Zacharia was due to make her debut in the White House briefing room on Tuesday 13 October 2026, ending a weeks-long stretch without a permanent press secretary at the podium. 1 2 Right · 1President Donald Trump announced the appointment on Truth Social on Sunday, saying Zacharia would start on Columbus Day and hold an introductory news conference at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday; he said Zacharia had been with him "in spirit, from the very beginning". 1 Right · 1Zacharia succeeds Karoline Leavitt, who served 19 months as the first press secretary of Trump's second administration and left on 27 August; Leavitt has since joined Fox News as a contributor. 1

Right · 1In the interim the White House held a limited number of briefings led by senior officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Attorney General Todd Blanche. 1 Right · 2Zacharia is an attorney who most recently was a senior communications adviser to Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates Truth Social, and previously worked as a spokesperson at the Department of Homeland Security; the Washington Examiner describes this as a brief stint, said to include several weeks this year as assistant secretary for public affairs under then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and says Zacharia also spent three years working in Beijing. 1 2 Right · 1Before the debut, Zacharia thanked Trump on X for the "distinguished privilege" of the job, said the work ahead was to communicate the administration's "major wins", and called following Leavitt "a high standard, and one worth meeting". On Fox & Friends Weekend, Zacharia promoted a Trump deal with Russia for more than 1.8 million tons of diesel fuel. 1

Right · 2Supporters praised the pick: former press secretary Sean Spicer said Zacharia has Trump's trust and would work well with the press corps, and communications director Steven Cheung called Zacharia "uniquely qualified and whip smart". 1 2 Right · 1The Washington Examiner says Zacharia has a less established record managing a major communications operation than Leavitt, and that Trump reportedly wanted a press secretary chosen more for television appearances than for managing messaging behind the scenes; this is attributed to unnamed Trumpworld insiders and people familiar with the hiring. 2 Right · 1The briefing comes three weeks before the 2026 midterms. The Washington Examiner reports Trump's RealClearPolitics approval average at 38.1%, more than 21 points underwater, a Democratic lead of more than 8 points on generic House ballots, and Democratic leads or ties in several Senate races, with the war in Iran and high prices cited as drags on Republican enthusiasm. 2