A Department of Homeland Security mouthpiece hired last month has quit over fears that her ties to “ICE Barbie” Kristi Noem’s alleged lover could sink her in MAGAworld, according to a report.
Katie Zacharia, a frequent Fox News guest whom the DHS hired as deputy assistant secretary for public affairs last month, resigned on Monday, the Daily Mail reports.
The 42-year-old lawyer’s exit comes after President Donald Trump fired Noem, 54, as DHS secretary, and ousted Corey Lewandowski, 52, with whom Noem is alleged to have had an affair.
Zacharia had appeared on an unofficial blacklist of two dozen Noem loyalists making the rounds at the DHS, with some pushing for those named to be fired, according to the Daily Mail. Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller had reportedly reviewed the list.
On Monday, Zacharia posted a screenshot from one of her Fox News appearances with the caption, “Okayyyyyy WE BACK!!!! 📺 Stay tuned!!! 👀” She later announced that she would appear on Fox News @ Night on Tuesday evening.
DHS insiders branded Zacharia as a “Corey person,” and suggested she worried she could be axed due to her close alliance with Noem’s controversial adviser and alleged paramour.
Officially just a special government employee at the DHS, Lewandowski—who is married—wielded outsized influence over operational matters and personnel as Noem’s de facto chief of staff.
“I think she knew she would be fired because she seen as a Corey Lewandowski person,” one DHS insider told the Daily Mail.
“She is a straight Corey person and a plant,” another senior DHS official said.
Zacharia, whose last day was Tuesday, vehemently denied that she was a “Corey person” to the Daily Mail.
“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 the men and women of ICE,” she told the outlet.
“I will continue supporting President Trump’s agenda in whatever way is possible ahead of the midterms.”
She later posted a similar statement on X, in which she professed her unwavering allegiance to the Trump agenda in true MAGA fashion.
“I look forward to continuing that work in other capacities. God bless America, God Bless President Trump, and I am grateful to be alive during the presidencies of @realDonaldTrump!!🇺🇸” she wrote.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Zacharia for comment on the reason for her exit and her next steps. The Daily Beast has also reached out to the DHS for comment.
Zacharia was hired in mid-February, after DHS’s top spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, announced she was leaving the agency just as it faced mountainous backlash over its harsh immigration tactics and rhetoric about migrants.
Since working at an organization called Compassion for Migrant Children while living in China during the 2010s, Zacharia has undergone a MAGA transformation and became a frequent face on Fox News and Newsmax, where she voiced support for the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies.
Fresh scandal engulfed Noem on Tuesday after a bombshell Daily Mail report revealed that her 56-year-old husband, Bryon Noem, has been moonlighting as a pouty-faced cross-dresser online, chatting with women from the “bimbofication” fetish scene.
