White House press secretary Katie Zacharia has been fired after less than a week on the job, two US officials say, after a rocky start as President Donald Trump’s top spokesperson.
Zacharia was “let go” and is “transitioning out” of the press secretary position, according to two separate White House officials.
She faced days of questions about her legal credentials and criticism of her performance in a news briefing and interviews.
The departure leaves Trump without a key public messenger just over two weeks before November’s midterm elections, a critical period when the president is seeking to tout his administration’s accomplishments and help his fellow Republicans retain control of Congress.
Trump told reporters earlier on Friday that he had asked Zacharia to reconsider whether to continue in her role after facing tough press coverage during her first days on the job.
“I told her: ‘I think you’re better off being happy, and I’m not sure you can ever be happy in this stuff.’ There’s nothing easy about this stuff,” he told reporters as he departed the White House for a weekend trip. He added: “I said to her honestly, ‘If I were you, I’d reconsider… think about it. But I would reconsider.'”
Zacharia started on Monday and held her debut White House briefing on Tuesday. She said she received a call about the press secretary role on October 7 and was offered the job to succeed Karoline Leavitt a week ago.
She soon faced questions about her career, which she said included a tenure practicing law. Trump had also described her as a lawyer.
“I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials,” Zacharia said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.
Reuters could not find records showing the Pepperdine University law school graduate was registered as an attorney or member of the bar in any US state or the District of Columbia.
During a Fox News interview on Thursday, Zacharia said she did not pass the bar exam. Law school graduates cannot legally practice law in the US without first being admitted to a state bar.
Zacharia and the White House did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment about her firing.
Trump hired Zacharia after expressing concerns about the media coverage of his administration, feeling he needed a new spokesperson who could amplify his achievements, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
In a phone interview with Fox on Friday, Trump said he was in no rush to name a new press secretary.
Zacharia’s quick exit meant she had what is believed to be the shortest tenure of any press secretary in the role’s history.
“Records are made to be broken,” Anthony Scaramucci, who served as director of communications for 10 days during Trump’s first administration, said on X. “But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain.”
If you enjoyed this feature, you might like our feature on Trump calling for a new President of the Ukraine.
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WHO CARES ABOUT TRUMP AND WHAT HE DOES ; HE IS A HUGE FAILURE AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN SO
Agree 1,000,000% Lydia! He is the WORST POTUS they have ever had and the SOONER they "dump him" the better!!!
You just don't get it, and you're way off the mark. He is a businessman first, not a slippery, slimy politician like the idiots running Australia right now; I wish he were in charge here. The country would be a successful powerhouse. He gets the job done; his work effort is amazing, and so are his achievements. He will go down in history as one of, if not the greatest President America has had.
WOW!!! Just shows you how we all think differently and interpret stories in the News differently as well eh??? As far as I am concerned he is an absolutely bigoted...arrogant...egotistical...a - - hole...with a greatly OVERINFLATED opinion of himself! Lastly I think it is terrible how there are sooooo MANY people in America hard-done-by and living in squalid conditions and really struggling financially and yet HE and other overly rich people are laughing all the way to the numerous Banks they own!!!
You have just highlighted something that MSM love to use against Trump: his wealth. Yes, he is a self-made billionaire, but you never hear about all the wonderful things he has done to help so many ordinary people throughout his life. You see his so-called arrogance as bad; I don't, because he cannot be bought off or compromised in his role. That is a powerful position, and he loves his country; that's what he is all about, MAGA. He doesn't take a salary and donates the money to charity. Love or hate him, just look at what he has done and achieved; everything he said he would do, and more- that's rare. That is a great leader and one the world needs right now.
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