The new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, spent her first day on the job giving a briefing in Washington, D.C., then getting on Air Force One to accompany President Donald Trump to Alaska.
Both were a long way from home in Thousand Oaks.
Zacharia has lived in Thousand Oaks since 2021, she said in a brief text message exchange with The Star. She declined an interview request and when asked to reflect on her first days and respond to criticism, she replied, "I am grateful to serve President Trump at this historic time in our nation's history."
Trump named Zacharia to the post on Oct. 9. She replaced Karoline Leavitt, who left the job at the end of August after serving as the administration's chief spokesperson since Trump began his second
term in January 2025.
On Oct. 13, Zacharia made her first appearance before reporters at the White House. The briefing was brief, less than 15 minutes, and she took questions from only three reporters, all of them from outlets regarded as conservative-leaning or Trump-friendly.
Zacharia herself was a conservative commentator until this week. She has appeared on Fox News and Newsmax, and is a senior communications adviser at Truth Social, Trump's social media company.
Zacharia, 41, is married to a film producer named Tyler Zacharia. They have three sons and one daughter, all between the ages of 6 and 12.
The family plans on moving to Washington, D.C., Zacharia said during her first White House briefing. Her husband and children came to the nation's capital with her this week to celebrate two birthdays in the family, she said.
"I intend to, to the extent possible, include my family, include my kids in my work. Though my work will be demanding, they will always be a priority," Zacharia said.
Local Republicans speak highly of her
In Thousand Oaks, Zacharia has attended Godspeak Calvary Chapel, one of the largest churches in the region. Lori Mills, a Republican from Simi Valley who ran for State Assembly in 2022, said she's run into Zacharia at Godspeak and also knows her through Fix California, a conservative political organization Zacharia worked for in 2024 and 2025.
Mills described Zacharia as "kind to everybody, regardless of party."
"She's just a very kind person, a very smart person, a very reasonable person," Mills said. "She will listen to people and ultimately will make up her own mind."
Barbara Turri, an aide to Ventura County Supervisor Jeff Gorell and a member of the Westlake Village Republican Women club, said she's met Zacharia at a few events and found her to be "very intelligent but also very personable."
"I think President Trump couldn’t have picked a better press secretary," Turri said.
Dale Thomas, the president of Westlake Village Republican Women, said she's met Zacharia in person once and talked to her on the phone several times. She said she was impressed with Zacharia's presence, passion and skill as a communicator.
"It’s very challenging for Republican women to face the political climate in California," Thomas said. "To see a Californian who has such a commitment to this administration and to conservative values I think is very uplifting for Republican women in general and particularly in California.”
Credentials questioned
Zacharia started the job to mixed reviews. Trump told reporters he thought she was "very good." Other observers focused on the short duration of the briefing, the lack of adversarial questions and the fact that shestumbled over some of her remarks.
Since Zacharia was named to the post, stories have been published about her history of inflammatory and often conspiracy-minded posts on Truth Social and X, formerly Twitter. Other stories have questioned whether she has exaggerated her credentials or falsely represented herself as an attorney in the United States.
Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine University in 2007 and from the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in 2011, according to a Pepperdine news release. She does not appear to have passed the bar exam to become a licensed attorney in any U.S. state, USA Today reported.
According to her LinkedIn page, Zacharia was an associate at a law firm in China from 2011 to 2013. Her LinkedIn profile also says she was "general counsel" for Fix California, a position that typically entails practicing law.
A White House official told USA Today that Zacharia moved to China with her husband after graduation and worked on international law, but did not respond to a question about whether she has passed the bar exam.
"I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials,” Zacharia later said in a statement.
Mark Jia, a Georgetown University law professor, told USA Today that under current Chinese law, foreign nationals are not allowed to sit for the bar exam or practice law, unless they are only practicing international law and are licensed in a foreign jurisdiction. However, those rules were put in place after Zacharia's time in China, so it's possible she could have done legal work there.
Tony Biasotti and Makena Huey are investigative and watchdog reporters for the Ventura County Star. Reach Makena at makena.huey@vcstar.com and Tony at tbiasotti@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation's Fund to Support Local Journalism. The foundation plays no role in story selection. The Star retains full editorial control.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Trump's new press secretary is from Thousand Oaks
