Katie Zacharia gets the press secretary job, but the briefing room stays shut

President Donald Trump announced on October 9, 2026, that Katie Zacharia will replace Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary. Zacharia currently works as a communications adviser at Trump Media and Technology Group, the company that runs Truth Social. She previously served as a spokesperson at the Department of Homeland Security under then-Secretary Kristi Noem.

Leavitt stepped down in August 2026 to focus on her family and young children. She became press secretary at 27 in January 2025, the youngest person to hold the role.

The selection draws from an unusual pipeline. Zacharia's recent employers are a social media company and a federal security agency, not a Capitol Hill press shop or a statehouse communications office. She has been a frequent guest on Fox News and Newsmax and has written op-eds for the New York Post. Trump praised her on Truth Social for an "unblemished record of support" and cited her work in key swing states during his campaigns. Zacharia wrote on X that the selection was "the honor of a lifetime" and said she would communicate the administration's wins to the American people.

It is not clear when she will start.

The press secretary is the administration's most visible daily interface with the press and the public. Zacharia inherits a briefing room that has not held a formal press briefing in 36 days, since Vice President J.D. Vance took questions there in early September. The administration often describes itself as the most transparent in history.

Two facts sit side by side without a clear causal link. The president chose a communications adviser from his own media company, rewarding message discipline and loyalty. And the podium has gone quiet for more than a month. Whether Zacharia resumes regular briefings, changes their format, or uses the role differently is not yet known. Her start date is unannounced, and no schedule for future briefings has been given.

What is established: the announcement, the 36-day gap, and the backgrounds of both the outgoing and incoming press secretaries. What remains open: when she begins, and whether the briefing room reopens on a regular schedule under her.