Speaking at her first official press briefing, Zacharia, who replaced Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary, outlined the energy investments announced by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month, including plans to build nuclear power plants, develop an LNG pipeline in Alaska, and construct a natural gas-fired power plant in Texas.
"[Trump ] also unveiled a South Korea energy investment package of up to $200 billion in the United States. This is an amazing deal. This includes as much as $120 billion to build eight large scale nuclear power plants," Zacharia said.
"In addition to that, there is $54 billion tied to the Alaska LNG pipeline and terminal to service the Pacific Rim and sell fuel to our allies as well as $22.3 billion for a 6-gigawatt natural gas power facility in Texas," she added.
The project is intended to transport and export liquefied natural gas to markets across the Pacific Rim including U.S. allies.
However, it remains to be seen whether the project will go ahead, as Seoul has said it has not yet been finalized and stressed that its commercial feasibility and other relevant factors must be assessed before any investment decision is made.
Meanwhile, Zacharia expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to take on the job, thanking Trump for placing his trust in her.
"I am so honored to work for [Trump] and the American people as the new White House press secretary. I want to thank [Trump] for the trust he has placed in me. I have wanted to work for him for a very long time," she said.
She also praised Trump for supporting working mothers. "[Trump] is the most family-friendly President we've ever had. He has hired more women with families, and the fact that he knew I had four kids and 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."
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