Photo: President / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Katie Zacharia is leaving her post as White House press secretary after seven days, according to a source who confirmed it to Fox News Digital. President Trump said on Oct. 16 that he told her to reconsider the role, but denied he fired her.
On Oct. 16, President Donald Trump told reporters on the South Lawn that he had urged White House press secretary Katie Zacharia to “reconsider” her job, and a source confirmed to Fox News Digital that she is leaving after seven days.
A senior White House official told Fox News that Zacharia is “transitioning out” of the role. Asked whether he fired her, Trump said: “No no. I want her to have a good life.”
Trump also said, “Maybe it’s not for her.” He added that she has been “brutalized by the media.”
A short tenure
Zacharia was named to the job on Oct. 9. Her first press briefing came on Oct. 13 and lasted 14 minutes, with questions from three reporters, according to Fox News.
Fox News reported that Karoline Leavitt’s first briefing ran nearly 47 minutes and Sean Spicer’s about 79. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ first, in 2017, lasted about 23 minutes.
An unnamed White House official told MS NOW that Zacharia could end up with a shorter tenure than Anthony Scaramucci. He served 10 days as communications director in 2017.
On Oct. 14, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung called her a “fabulous and wonderful addition to the team,” according to Fox News Digital.
Questions over her law credentials
Trump described Zacharia as an attorney when he announced her appointment, Fox News reported. On Oct. 15, she appeared on “Hannity” and was asked whether she could call herself one.
According to Zacharia, she never passed the bar exam and never received a law license in the United States. She took the exam, she said, so that she would not be listed as withdrawn while she was planning to move to China.
On her first briefing, Zacharia said she had “very little prep time” and had been on the job less than about eight hours.
Her statement and background
Late on Oct. 16, Zacharia posted on X that “it was an honor” to serve Trump. She wrote that she wished more Americans appreciated him.
She previously served as senior communications adviser at Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates Truth Social. Earlier this year she spent six weeks as a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson and deputy assistant secretary for public affairs, according to Fox News.
Fox News also reported that the @PressSec account on X was never switched over to Zacharia.
Sources: Fox News
What it means for you
- The White House press secretary job is in transition. The reports did not say who will fill it.
- The president publicly denied firing Zacharia, while a White House official described her as “transitioning out.”
- Zacharia said on Oct. 15 that she never obtained a U.S. law license, even though Trump called her an attorney when he announced her appointment.