Katie Zacharia, a recently appointed spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, has resigned amid concerns she might be dismissed due to her association with Corey Lewandowski. Zacharia, a well-known conservative lawyer and media figure, stepped down on Monday, according to information obtained by the Daily Mail.
Initially brought on board as the on-camera representative for the department, Zacharia joined the team to help navigate the turmoil following the tragic shootings of two anti-ICE protesters, which had put the department under intense scrutiny.
The 41-year-old mother of four was appointed in mid-February to serve as deputy assistant secretary, succeeding Tricia McLaughlin, who had announced her departure. Zacharia’s role reported to Lauren Bis, McLaughlin’s successor as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.
Her tenure was soon overshadowed by significant changes within the department, including President Donald Trump’s dismissal of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Lewandowski, Noem’s chief adviser and romantic partner.
Zacharia has been working under Lauren Bis, McLaughlin’s replacement as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.
Just a couple of weeks later, President Donald Trump fired DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and also tossed Lewandowski, her chief adviser and lover.
Katie Zacharia, 41, had replaced 31–year–old Tricia McLaughlin as the on-camera face of Trump’s immigration crackdown in February, but turned in her resignation on Sunday
Ten officials close to Noem were shifted to the State Department to assist the ousted Homeland chief in her new role as special envoy for The Shield of the Americas, a security initiative set up by Trump, sources told the Daily Mail.
The move came as an unofficial blacklist circulated in the DHS containing the names of more than two dozen Noem loyalists, who some were pushing to get fired. The list was reviewed by Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller – a hardliner who was pivotal in Noem’s demise.
The Daily Mail obtained a copy of the list, and can confirm Zacharia was on it.
‘I think she knew she would be fired because she was seen as a Corey Lewandowski person,’ a DHS insider told the Daily Mail Tuesday.
‘She is a straight Corey person and a plant,’ another senior DHS official said.
However another source said she left, in part, because she was given a false bill of goods about what the job entailed, brought in as a spokesperson but given menial tasks such as fielding email inquiries.
Zacharia emphatically refuted the notion that she was a ‘Corey person’ when contacted by the Daily Mail, and said the President had posted clips of her support for ICE on Truth Social months before she was hired.
Her last day was Tuesday.
‘I joined DHS with a genuine passion for supporting President Trump in his decisive and effective policies to secure our homeland, be a voice for the precious Angel Families, and an advocate for the men and women of ICE,’ she stated.
‘I will continue supporting President Trump’s agenda in whatever way is possible ahead of the midterms.’
Zacharia’s hiring had been the culmination of a career spanning work as an attorney for the World Bank in China and Republican political campaigns.
Lewandowski had wielded unprecedented power within the DHS as a special government employee due to his relationship with now ousted Secretary Kristi Noem
Noem herself was forced out of her role as the head of the DHS and has since been appointed Special Envoy to the Shield of the Americas
Known for her unapologetic conservative views, Zacharia has spent years as a cable news staple, debating tough topics as a prime-time contributor for Newsmax and Fox News.
Though Zacharia claims to be a commentator for Fox News on her LinkedIn profile, a spokesperson for the network disputed that title and said she had only appeared as a guest.
Just days after being tossed from the Department of Homeland Security, Lewandowski joined Noem last week during one of her first overseas trips for the State Department.
Photos released Wednesday by the Guyanese government showed Lewandowski, in a dark suit and salmon tie, sitting stone-faced by her side at a formal meeting in Guyana with the South American nation’s president and other government officials.
He was also seen with the former DHS secretary in Costa Rica and Ecuador.
The brazen display in Guyana prompted outrage and guffaws among some of Noem’s former colleagues at DHS, and word from the State Department that Lewandowski would not be serving in any capacity with the department.
‘They just can’t quit each other,’ one DHS official told the Daily Mail.
