As the seventh consecutive female White House press secretary, the California transplant will be closely scrutinized for her actions and her appearance.

Now that Katie Zacharia has stepped behind the podium as the latest White House spokesperson, her appearance will undoubtedly be scrutinized in the Beltway and beyond.

Succeeding Karoline Leavitt, who exited in late August, Zacharia is the seventh consecutive female press secretary. She is taking on the role at a pivotal time as tensions between the White House and the media are at an all-time high.

Zacharia, a graduate of Pepperdine’s Caruso School of Law, was most recently senior communications adviser at Truth Social, an extension of Trump Media & Technology Group. The Californian had an abbreviated run as a spokesperson at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security earlier this year. Having appeared as a conservative commentator for Fox News and Newsmax, Zacharia has favored fitted sleeveless dresses in bold colors. (This month, Leavitt announced that she is joining the company as an on-air contributor.)

Like it or not, like Leavitt, Karine Jean-Pierre, Jen Psaki and her other predecessors, Zacharia’s style choices will inevitably come into play in how she is perceived by the media and beyond.

While Sean Spicer — the most recent man to hold that post nine years ago — was often a suit-and-tie guy, women have more leeway — and potential for missteps, three political insiders noted. Last year, for example, after President Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese goods and touted his focus on Made in America products, Leavitt was called out on social media by a high-ranking Chinese official for wearing a Self-Portrait dress that had in fact been made in China.

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