Katie Zacharia out as White House press secretary days after taking office

Katie Zacharia left her position as White House press secretary Oct. 16, days after taking office and facing scrutiny over her first briefing and legal credentials.

A senior White House official told Fox News Oct. 16 that Zacharia was “transitioning out” of the role. Reuters reported that she had been fired, citing two U.S. officials.

President Donald Trump told reporters on the South Lawn Oct. 16 that he had urged Zacharia to reconsider the role, citing what he described as unfair treatment by the media.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Trump recalled telling Zacharia.

Trump said he had spoken with her minutes earlier, expressing concern about the media’s treatment of her.

“I’m going to let her make that decision,” he told reporters.

He also recounted Zacharia’s response to the demands of the position.

“She said, ‘this is a lot tougher.’ I said, ‘welcome to the world of Trump,’” the President said.

As Zeale News previously reported, Trump announced Zacharia's appointment as press secretary on Oct. 11. After leaving the role, Zacharia will be given a different position in the administration to be announced at a later date, according to a senior White House official.

Zacharia reflected on her time working for Trump in an Oct. 16 post on X, writing, “President Trump is a kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking man. I wish more Americans appreciated him,” she wrote. “No one will ever make America great the way he has and continues to. It was an honor to work for him.”

Trump also rejected reports that he was considering replacing White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Politico had reported that he was consulting allies about her and discussing potential replacements, according to CNN.

“Susie Wiles is my loyal and longest serving Chief of Staff — there is a reason for that,” Trump said in a statement to Politico, adding that she “has my COMPLETE confidence.”

Zacharia began the press secretary job Oct. 12, succeeding Karoline Leavitt, who left in August to spend more time with her family, as Zeale News previously reported. 

Her first briefing Oct. 13 lasted approximately 14 minutes and included questions from three outlets, according to AP News. 

The New York Post described Zacharia as “visibly nervous” during the appearance.

Fox News host Sean Hannity questioned Zacharia about the briefing in an Oct. 15 interview, asking how she thought it had gone and whether she believed staff should have prepared her better.

Zacharia defended her preparation for the briefing. 

"Given the fact that I'd been on the job less than maybe eight hours and had a briefing book in the morning, I feel like I did my very best, Sean, to deliver for the American people that day," Zacharia said.

Hannity also questioned her legal background. Trump had described Zacharia as an attorney when announcing her appointment, but she acknowledged during the interview that she had failed the California bar exam and never retaken it, Fox News reported.

Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011. She said she was preparing to move to China with her husband when she took the exam and considered the result “inconsequential” to those plans, according to AP News.

Trump addressed the interview when speaking with reporters later that day.

“She was on Sean Hannity last night, and Sean was a little bit tough. I saw Fox & Friends this morning. They were a little tough,” he said, according to Newsmax.

Fox News’ Peter Doocy reported Oct. 16 that Trump was in “no rush” to name Zacharia’s replacement.