Katie Zacharia out as White House press secretary days after Trump's appointment
White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia is leaving her position in the Trump administration less than a week after she was selected following the departure of Karoline Leavitt.
Outlets including The New York Times and Fox News have reported that Zacharia was “transitioning out” of the press secretary position after overseeing only one press briefing.
The decision came shortly after President Donald Trump told reporters he had urged her to “reconsider” the role. “I said to Katie, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he said.
A conservative commentator who most recently served as a senior communications adviser at Trump Media & Technology Group, Zacharia also served as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security for about six weeks earlier this year. She took over the role as White House press secretary from Karoline Leavitt, who stepped down on Aug. 27.
In a statement posted on Truth Social last week, Trump called Zacharia's appointment as press secretary a “Great Honor” and said her past work was “outstanding.” He described her as “a distinguished Graduate of Pepperdine University, and the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, an attorney, and a frequent Commentator on outlets, including Fox News and Newsmax.”
“She was previously involved in my Campaigns, assisting in key Swing States, where we won 7 out of 7. She has an unblemished record of support, and has been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning,” Trump said. “She is, likewise, a devoted fan and member of MAGA! I am confident that Katie will deliver strong results for our Country as the next White House Press Secretary, as she has the respect of, and will work fantastically with, the Media, the American People, and my Administration.”
Zacharia held her first and only press briefing on Tuesday, which lasted about 14 minutes, and she took few questions from the White House Press Corps.
"What I feel is I really stepped up to the plate with very little prep time," Zacharia told Fox News opinion host Sean Hannity in an interview Thursday night. "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."
She also faced scrutiny for her claims that she could legitimately call herself an attorney, as she eventually admitted to having never passed the bar exam or received a law license in the United States.
