BREAKING: Katie Zacharia pledges commitment to new media, touts Trump’s midterm blitz in first press briefing; confirms Guilfoyle asked to resign 

New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia held her first press briefing Tuesday morning, promising to maintain and expand new media access while touting President Donald Trump’s nationwide midterm push.

“My predecessor Karoline Leavitt did an incredible job, and I completely agree with the choice of new media seat,” Zacharia, 42, said in response to the briefing’s first question, which asked whether she would ensure new media access to the White House. Under Leavitt, who recently stepped down as press secretary to spend more time with her family, the White House made welcoming nonlegacy media a priority, including outlets such as Heartlander News in the White House press pool.

“We are absolutely going to keep it, and we’re going to expand on it to the extent possible,” Zacharia said. “We love new media and we want to be able to embrace it.”

Zacharia’s first briefing came only days after the White House announced Friday that she had been selected for the role. She spent much of the short briefing – during which she took only six questions – defending Trump’s agenda and the “energy and excitement” he has drummed up ahead of the midterms.

As the president has traveled to hold rallies ahead of the midterm elections, Zacharia said his schedule will “absolutely” intensify over the next three weeks.

“You can expect more of the midterm blitz,” she said. “Just now, we’ve added Kentucky, and we have a few other stops as he goes down to Florida. So it’ll be Georgia, Kentucky, and Florida.”

Zacharia also announced that the White House had asked Greek Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign, following a Wall Street Journal report that she had asked a Trump donor to pay a $100,000 credit card bill. Later that morning, Guilfoyle announced her resignation, citing her accomplishments and calling the allegations against her “false.”

Zacharia, who has four children ages 6 to 12, said her family will move from California to Washington, D.C.

“They are my priority,” she said, noting that Leavitt had advised her on balancing the demanding White House role with motherhood. “President Trump is the most family-friendly president we’ve ever had,” she added. “He has hired more women with families, and the fact that he knew I had four kids and he knew that this job would be demanding, and still placed his trust in me, shows that I know I’m capable of being able to step up to that.”

(Image credit: Screenshot/Fox News)