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.
Katie Zacharia on Dec. 14, in Franklin, Tenn.Terry Wyatt / Getty for 2521 Ent. and Angel Studios
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.
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.