Katie Zacharia Replaces Karoline Leavitt and Holds First White House Briefing

Katie Zacharia has taken over from Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary. She appeared at her first briefing on October 13, 2026, according to Al Jazeera.

SVT described Zacharia as a former conservative commentator and Trump employee. Her arrival puts a new spokesperson at the podium just as the administration faces allegations involving Kimberly Guilfoyle, its ambassador to Greece.

On October 12, President Donald Trump said his administration was considering firing Guilfoyle and was unhappy with the situation, according to Euronews.

At her debut briefing on October 13, Zacharia announced that the White House had asked Guilfoyle to resign, CNBC International reported. The announcement gave her first appearance an immediate personnel controversy to address.

Guilfoyle resigned shortly afterwards. NBC News reported that she rejected the misconduct allegations as false. According to NPR Politics, those allegations included seeking payment from a Trump donor in exchange for access to administration officials.

The briefing itself was brief. The New York Times reported that Zacharia spent eight minutes reading from a script and called on only three reporters. The Sydney Morning Herald put the full appearance at 14 minutes.

Zacharia also faced questions about her legal background. According to the South China Morning Post, she told reporters she had passed a bar exam "when I moved to China", prompting scrutiny of her credentials.

Zacharia is now the White House press secretary, while Guilfoyle has left her ambassadorial post. These are separate personnel changes: Zacharia replaced Leavitt, not Guilfoyle, as Al Jazeera and NBC News reported.

Trump praised Zacharia's performance, saying he thought she was "very good", according to World News CNA. That endorsement came despite coverage focused on the limited questions she took and the delivery of her prepared remarks.

One unresolved question is the precise nature of Zacharia's legal qualifications. Forbes reported that she cited her time in China when asked about her law career, while the South China Morning Post highlighted her bar exam statement. The supplied coverage does not establish which examination she meant or resolve the questions about her credentials.