White House says Katie Zacharia is leaving press secretary role after five days

Donald Trump’s White House confirmed on Friday that Katie Zacharia would leave her job as press secretary, days after she started. The change comes weeks before US midterm elections, but the circumstances of her departure remain unclear. [2]

Zacharia began work on Monday 12 October, according to NPR, in a report published by KPBS. The White House presented her as its 37th press secretary at her first briefing on Tuesday, praising the appearance as “commanding”. It lasted about 14 minutes, and she took questions from three reporters. [5] [1] [4]

On Thursday, Zacharia told Fox News she had received briefing materials only that Tuesday morning and felt she had done her best with little preparation. Asked about her legal qualifications, she said she had failed a bar exam after law school and had not taken it again. [3]

Trump told reporters on Friday that he had advised Zacharia to reconsider the job. He said she had been treated “pretty nastily” by the media and, asked whether he had fired her, said no. White House officials separately told the BBC, NPR and Fox News that she was “transitioning out” of the role. [4] [5] [2]

Axios reported, citing two senior administration officials, that Zacharia had been ousted; one official said her briefing had left Trump unimpressed. BBC correspondent Anthony Zurcher assessed that the briefing and questions about her legal credentials had “essentially sealed her fate”. Those accounts do not settle the formal terms of her departure or what happens to her next. Trump said he was in “no rush” to name a replacement. [6] [2]