WASHINGTON — Katie Zacharia’s tenure as White House press secretary is over after a matter of days, following a rocky debut briefing, the revelation that she never passed a bar exam despite years of describing herself as a lawyer, and a public suggestion from President Donald Trump on Friday that she should “reconsider” whether the job was for her.
A senior White House official told Fox News that Zacharia is “transitioning out” of the role. USA Today, citing four sources familiar with the decision, including a senior White House official, reported that she had been fired. The New York Times also reported that her tenure had ended. Neither Zacharia nor the White House had issued a public statement on her status as of Friday afternoon, and no successor has been named.
Trump himself stopped short of saying he had fired her. Speaking to reporters on the South Lawn on Friday as he left for a campaign rally in Georgia, the president said he had spoken with Zacharia earlier in the day and urged her to think about whether she wanted to continue. “I said to Katie, ‘You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,'” Trump said, adding, “Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider.” Asked directly whether he was firing her, he replied: “No, no. I want her to have a good life.”
Trump said Zacharia told him the job was “a lot tougher” than she had expected. “Maybe it’s not for her,” he said. “She’s been brutalized by the media.” He said he planned to speak with her again after returning from Georgia and would “do whatever she wants” — but by then, officials were already telling reporters she was on her way out.
A week that unraveled
Zacharia, 41, a conservative commentator and senior communications adviser at Trump Media & Technology Group, was named to the job just last Friday, Oct. 9, hours after flying to Washington to meet Trump about the position. She started work on Monday and held her first — and only — press briefing on Tuesday. Zark News covered her appointment here.
The 14-minute debut drew immediate criticism. Reading falteringly from her notes, she took questions from only three reporters, all from conservative-leaning outlets, and at one point referred to her husband as “my president” before catching herself. Some administration officials watching from their desks questioned why she had been put before the cameras so quickly. Zacharia later said she had less than 24 hours to prepare and received her briefing materials that morning. The White House initially praised the performance, calling it “a commanding inaugural press briefing.”
On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that although Zacharia had repeatedly described herself as a lawyer — and Trump had introduced her as an attorney — she did not pass the California bar exam when she took it in 2011 and is not licensed to practice law anywhere in the United States. On Thursday, Zacharia confirmed in television interviews that she had never passed a bar exam, saying she had consulted attorneys about whether her law degree allowed her to be described as a lawyer, and noting on Friday that she was “hired as White House press secretary and not White House counsel.”
Those interviews became part of the problem. Sean Hannity pressed her on Thursday night about her performance and her background, and the hosts of “Fox & Friends” questioned her again on Friday morning. Trump, a close watcher of both programs, told reporters Friday that each had been “a little bit tough” on her.
Why it happened: a rushed loyalty pick for the job Trump watches most closely
The collapse caps two chaotic months for the most public-facing job in the administration. Karoline Leavitt announced on Aug. 12 that she would step down, and she left on Aug. 27, saying she wanted to spend more time with her young children; her daughter was born in May. Leavitt defended the decision publicly this week, pointing to 60-hour weeks and being on call around the clock. She begins as an on-air contributor at Fox News on Nov. 1 and remains an outside adviser to Trump.
The podium then sat empty for more than six weeks while Trump complained that his administration was failing to sell its record. “We’re doing a great job in running the country, but we’re not doing a good job of public relations,” he said at a rally in Durant, Oklahoma, on Oct. 1. With the Nov. 3 midterm elections approaching and his approval ratings under pressure, Trump turned to a familiar television defender. Zacharia had defended him for years on Fox News and Newsmax, worked briefly as a spokesperson at the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year, and served as general counsel for Fix California, the conservative advocacy group founded by Ric Grenell. Announcing the appointment on Truth Social, Trump praised her “unblemished record of support” and called her “a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning.”
The bet on loyalty and television polish over briefing-room experience unraveled within days. Communications director Steven Cheung was still defending Zacharia on Wednesday, predicting she would be remembered as “one of the all-time greats.” By Friday, the president was publicly offering her the exit.
Reaction on X
Fox News broke word of the departure on X at 1:24 p.m. ET: “BREAKING: Katie Zacharia ‘transitioning out’ of job as Trump’s press secretary, senior White House official tells @pdoocy.” The post drew more than a million views within the hour. Wall Street Journal reporter Natalie Andrews posted Trump’s remarks, quoting the president saying Zacharia had told him the job is “a lot tougher.” The New York Times had noted on Thursday that “Katie Zacharia, the new White House press secretary, confirmed on Thursday that she had never passed a bar exam or been an attorney.”
Anthony Scaramucci, whose own 2017 stint as White House communications director lasted about ten days and became shorthand for a short-lived Trump appointment, responded on X: “Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain.” Conservative commentator Meghan McCain criticized the hiring itself, writing that Zacharia should not be anywhere near a briefing room. Journalist Judd Legum circulated a compilation video of Zacharia describing herself as a lawyer over the years, which drew more than a million views.
Zacharia herself has posted nothing on X since Oct. 14, when she shared a photograph from the White House captioned “Best President in U.S. History!!!” On Oct. 9, accepting the appointment, she had called serving as press secretary “the honor of a lifetime.” Trump posted nothing about Zacharia on X; his appointment announcement ran on Truth Social, and his Friday comments were made to reporters at the White House.
What happens next
For the second time in two months, the White House is searching for a chief spokesperson — this time with the midterm elections less than three weeks away and the president openly dissatisfied with how his administration’s message is landing. Trump said Friday he would talk with Zacharia after his Georgia trip. Whether she takes another role in the administration, and who takes the podium next, was not immediately clear.
