Trump’s Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Ousted After Just Five Days

US President Donald Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, has left the White House role after just five days, following criticism of her first press briefing and questions about her professional background that quickly overshadowed her appointment. Two Trump administration officials confirmed her departure on Friday, October 16, according to Reuters, describing her as having been let go and transitioning out of the position.

The departure came hours after Trump publicly suggested that Zacharia should reconsider the job, saying the media coverage of her first days had been particularly harsh. He told reporters that he had advised her to think about whether the demanding position would make her happy, while expressing sympathy for the scrutiny she had faced. Although Trump did not publicly describe the move as a dismissal at the time, administration officials subsequently confirmed that she was leaving the role.

Trump announced Zacharia’s appointment on October 9, selecting the conservative commentator and communications adviser to replace Karoline Leavitt, who left the role in August. Zacharia began work on Monday, October 12, and delivered her first White House press briefing the following day. The briefing lasted about 14 minutes and included only a few questions, according to reports, with her delivery drawing criticism and raising doubts about her readiness for one of the administration’s most visible communications positions.

Questions about Zacharia’s legal qualifications added to the controversy. When Trump announced her appointment, he described her as an attorney. Zacharia also said she had practised international transactional law, but Reuters reported that it could find no records showing she was admitted to practise law in any US state or the District of Columbia. In a Fox News interview on Thursday, she acknowledged that she had not passed the bar examination and had not retaken it. A law degree alone does not authorise a graduate to practise law in the United States; admission to a state bar is generally required.

The questions over her credentials came as she attempted to defend her performance in media interviews following the initial briefing. The controversy was particularly awkward for an administration that had presented her appointment as an opportunity to strengthen its public messaging and promote Trump’s record. Reuters reported that the president had been seeking a spokesperson who could more effectively communicate his administration’s achievements.

Zacharia, who previously worked in communications for Trump Media & Technology Group and had a brief stint as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, publicly expressed gratitude for the opportunity. In a post on X on Friday evening, she praised Trump and said it had been an honour to work for him. The White House had not publicly provided a detailed explanation of the decision to remove her from the press secretary position.

Her exit leaves the administration without a permanent press secretary at a politically sensitive moment, with the US midterm elections scheduled for November. The role is central to the White House’s daily engagement with journalists and the public, particularly as the president seeks to defend his policies and support Republican candidates. Trump said he was in no rush to name a replacement, leaving the timing of the next appointment unclear.

Zacharia’s five-day tenure is believed to be the shortest for a White House press secretary. It was even briefer than the tenure of Anthony Scaramucci, who served as Trump’s communications director for about 10 days in 2017. The abrupt departure underscores how quickly a high-profile appointment can become a liability when a new spokesperson’s performance and credentials become the focus of public attention rather than the administration’s intended message.