Katie Zacharia is leaving her position as White House press secretary after a seven-day tenure, following a directive from President Donald Trump to reconsider the role. A source familiar with the matter confirmed the departure to Fox News Digital, while a senior White House official described Zacharia as "transitioning out" of the job.
The decision was revealed on Friday when Trump addressed members of the press on the South Lawn. He stated that he told Zacharia, "You don't have to do this if you don't want to… I think you should reconsider." When asked if he had fired her, Trump clarified, "No no. I want her to have a good life," adding that she had been "brutalized by the media." He also noted, "Maybe it’s not for her."
Zacharia’s brief time in office was marked by immediate scrutiny regarding her legal credentials and her first press briefing. She was appointed on Oct. 9 and held her first briefing on Oct. 13, a session that lasted 14 minutes and included questions from only three journalists. During that debut, she mistakenly referred to her husband as "my president" before correcting herself.
On Thursday night, during an appearance on "Hannity," Zacharia addressed questions about her status as an attorney. She acknowledged that she had not passed the bar exam and never secured a law license in the United States. She explained that she registered for the exam in advance but decided to sit for it despite knowing she would be residing in China, as she did not want to be recorded as having withdrawn. Defending her performance in the initial briefing, she told host Sean Hannity that she had "very little prep time" and had been on the job for less than eight hours before receiving her briefing book.
Prior to joining the White House, Zacharia served as a senior communications adviser to Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates Truth Social. She also previously worked as deputy assistant secretary for public affairs and a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security. Trump had described her as an attorney when announcing her appointment.
The White House initially defended Zacharia against comparisons to Anthony Scaramucci, whose tenure as communications director ended after 10 days in 2017. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital that Zacharia was "uniquely qualified and whip smart" and would do an incredible job. However, an unnamed White House official told MS NOW that Zacharia had "got off on the wrong foot" and needed to improve quickly or risk breaking Scaramucci’s record for brevity.
The official X account @PressSec, previously managed by Karoline Leavitt, has not posted since Oct. 7 and did not switch over to Zacharia during her time in the role.