All posts tagged "White House"

Katie Zacharia was in the middle of an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Friday when a knock at her West Wing door effectively ended her five days as White House press secretary, the paper reported.

She was behind her new desk, in an office with few personal touches, when senior adviser Jason Miller stuck his head in.

“JD wanted to chat with us real quick,” Miller said, referring to the vice president....

A federal appeals panel appeared deeply doubtful Friday of the Justice Department’s argument that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional, with one judge calling the government’s position “sad,” The New York Times reported on Friday.

The 1978 law, a post-Watergate measure, treats White House records as government property that must be saved and handed to the National Archives. Justice Department lawyer John Bailey told the D.C. Circuit panel the statute intrudes on the presidency and has outlived its usefulness. He warned a future president might use the records to embarrass a predecessor’s staff.

Judge Cornelia Pillard, an Obama appointee, rejected that framing. “That is such a sad and such a partisan view,” she said. She added that it assumed the separation of powers protects only the current president, which has never been true....

Critics are doubling down on their predictions of a short tenure for President Donald Trump's new press secretary after a rough night on friendly turf.

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia sat down with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night, and he wasted little time pressing her on her claims to be an attorney despite no evidence that she has ever passed a bar exam or been admitted to practice law in any state.

Zacharia told Hannity she had been advised it was fine to call herself a lawyer but not an attorney. Hannity then confronted her with a report identifying 15 social media posts in which she called herself an attorney. "I think they were retweets," Zacharia replied....

President Donald Trump's new White House press secretary appears to have tried to scrub parts of her online past before taking the role.

Katie Zacharia, named to the post Friday, has a "sordid online history" she seemingly worked to wipe from view, The Bulwark reported Saturday.

Zacharia previously served as a spokeswoman for then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, appeared regularly on Fox News and Newsmax and most recently advised Trump Media and Technology Group....

A White House aide’s new video offers a sweeping look at President Donald Trump’s ballroom construction site, where the historic East Wing once stood — revealing the staggering scale of the pit left behind.

White House communications adviser Margo Martin posted the 24-second clip Friday. It shows Trump speaking with a construction worker before the camera pans across the sprawling site, revealing towering cranes and construction equipment.

“President @realDonaldTrump checks on the progress of the White House Ballroom construction,” Martin wrote on X....

The prediction market Kalshi is examining some strangely well-timed wagers that anticipated President Donald Trump's selection of Katie Zacharia as White House press secretary, according to the Wall Street Journal.

A Kalshi spokeswoman said the company is looking into the trades but wouldn't say more. Zacharia, a conservative media commentator who spent a short stint at the Department of Homeland Security, hadn't been seen as a top contender. In the days before the news, Kalshi gave her roughly a 1 percent chance.

News outlets began reporting her pick around 2 p.m. Friday, and Trump confirmed it on his Truth Social platform. "I am confident that Katie will deliver strong results for our Country," the president wrote....