Katie Zacharia takes over as White House press secretary

Katie Zacharia opened her first press briefing by thanking President Trump and stating her commitment to the role. She presented herself as continuing advocacy for the Trump administration's agenda, a transition from her previous work as a conservative commentator.

Zacharia opened her substantive remarks by referencing Trump's recent campaign activity. A rally held the previous night in Youngstown, Ohio drew thousands of supporters, with entertainment figure Jake Paul and football coach John Gruden appearing as special guests.

The Department of War officially selected Cleveland, Ohio as the site for a new U.S. Navy submarine component repair center. The 46,000-square-foot facility will handle manufacturing, repair, and maintenance of key submarine parts for both new and existing vessels.

Zacharia characterized the facility as historic, part of the administration's broader emphasis on rebuilding domestic military-industrial capacity.

Zacharia indicated she would attend the Montana rally personally as part of the ongoing midterm campaign push.

Under the Biden administration, real wages fell nearly 4 percent, with average private sector workers losing nearly $3,000 in annual purchasing power.

Zacharia credited Trump with delivering the biggest decline in prescription drug prices in 63 years, calling him the first president in modern history to actually lower such costs.

This total includes nearly 112,000 factory construction jobs and 72,000 manufacturing jobs in the current year alone.

Zacharia emphasized manufacturing positions as central to the administration's economic agenda, repeatedly highlighting factory and construction job categories.

The United States reached record domestic oil and gas production in 2025 and record crude and petroleum product exports in 2026, according to Zacharia.

The facility will create 1,750 permanent jobs and support up to 6,000 construction positions during the building phase.

The project is projected to generate an estimated $95 billion in economic output, making it central to the administration's emphasis on domestic manufacturing revival.

Zacharia noted that nuclear energy expansion was a priority Trump promised during his campaign.

This investment represented a major step toward addressing the nation's energy needs through new nuclear capacity, a centerpiece of administration energy policy.

A $22.3 billion investment will fund a 6 gigawatt natural gas power facility in Texas, part of the broader energy infrastructure expansion Zacharia outlined during the briefing.

Zacharia framed the move as part of broader efforts to "secure the Western Hemisphere for centuries to come."

The agreement represented a departure from previous U.S.-Greenland relations, though Zacharia provided no details on how the arrangement would function or what it entailed beyond security oversight.

She attributed both improvements directly to Trump administration policies.

These statistics formed part of Zacharia's broader case for administration accomplishments on law enforcement and public health, presented early in the briefing before moving to campaign and legislative matters.

Zacharia indicated more campaign events would follow the pattern already established.

When reporter Peter Doocy asked whether Zacharia's role includes helping Republicans facing tough midterm races, she replied that she continues the work she did as an outside commentator. She described her function as amplifying Trump's agenda and communicating administration accomplishments to the public.

Zacharia characterized her goal as communicating "in complete tandem with the president as he is his own best spokesperson," framing her briefing role as subordinate to Trump's direct communication with voters. She emphasized the scope of change she believed the administration had achieved rather than limiting remarks to traditional White House briefing topics.

When Peter Doocy asked whether the U.S. has stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, Zacharia declined to answer, saying she would provide a response later.

She called Guilfoyle "a wonderful asset to the team" and said the administration wished her well.

The request came after the Daily Mail had been reporting on Guilfoyle since the previous year, and Trump himself indicated he was considering her dismissal. Zacharia provided no explanation for the timing or reasons behind the resignation request.

Zacharia concluded the briefing by announcing that Trump was heading to Marine One for a trip to Alaska, with the president set to answer remaining questions during the travel.