Katie Zacharia’s new White House role will bring a move to Washington for a family whose working lives span politics and Hollywood.
The press secretary and her husband, producer Tyler Zacharia, share four children: three boys and one girl, ages six, eight, 10 and 12. During her first briefing on October 13, Katie said the California-based family would relocate to the capital.
While Katie begins her work at the White House podium, Tyler has built a career producing films and serving as chief operations officer at 2521 Entertainment.
Her remarks about their family also produced a brief verbal mix-up. While explaining her husband’s visit to Washington, she accidentally called him “my president” before correcting herself with a laugh.
Tyler’s career spans film production and entertainment leadership
According to HELLO!, Tyler’s production credits include The Irishman, Silence, The Starling, Countdown and Roofman.
He graduated from Georgetown University before earning an MBA at Pepperdine University.
Katie has also publicly celebrated his work on family-friendly projects. In a social media post, she praised his involvement in David, Brink of War, Young Washington and other films for Angel.
She connected that work to their children, describing them as the motivation behind the couple’s professional efforts.
“Our four kids get to be front and center of the family-friendly films and they are our WHY,” she wrote.
Although their careers take them into different industries, Katie’s comments have emphasized the importance of keeping family life involved in their schedules.
Making time together part of the job
In an interview with LA Mom Magazine, Katie described Tyler’s efforts to include the family when he travels professionally.
“Teamwork is so essential. He integrates family on work trips, the entire family,” she said.
She explained that much of their time together revolves around activities with their young children, adding that attending events as a family matters to them.
That emphasis carried into her first White House briefing, where she described her children as her priority and said spending evenings apart from them was unacceptable to her.
Her husband and children were in Washington for her debut, with two family birthdays also taking place.
“I love being with my kids,” Katie told reporters, while offering her husband a public thank-you.
Keeping the children away from political criticism
Katie has shared family photographs online while obscuring her children’s faces. In one accompanying message, she discussed the criticism that comes with working in politics and her efforts to protect her family from it.
“Being in the world of politics, whether directly or adjacent, is BRUTAL…and I personally take DAILY heat for it. I try to keep my family away from the flame,” she wrote.
The same post expressed pride in Tyler’s filmmaking and described faith, country and family as shared priorities.
Family considerations have shaped her career decisions
After graduating from Pepperdine, Katie moved to China and worked at Zhong Lun Law Firm. She later became a Newsmax commentator.
From 2023 to 2025, she served as Pepperdine’s director of development for special projects. She also serves on the law school’s Dean’s Council.
In February, she became deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. She left the following month, citing the demanding commute and distance from her family.
Katie joined Trump Media and Technology Group as a communications adviser in June 2026 before becoming White House press secretary.
The planned relocation now brings her husband and four children to Washington as she takes on her new responsibilities.
