Trump’s press secretary Katie Zacharia is out five days into job

Trump's press secretary Katie Zacharia is out five days into job.

Key points

• Katie Zacharia debuted as the new White House press secretary and thanked President Donald Trump for the position.
• Defending herself on Fox News, Zacharia pointed to the back-and-forth cross-country trips she took from California to Washington D.C.
• Zacharia's quick exit came after the White House initially rallied behind the 41-year-old press secretary after an unsteady briefing that was widely panned.
• "I said to Katie, 'You know, you don't have to do this if you don't want to, " Trump remarked on Oct.
• Hannity asked pointed questions to Zacharia, questioning why she blamed the White House staff for her.

Trump's press secretary Katie Zacharia is out five days into job. Joey Garrison, Zac Anderson, Francesca Chambers, Bart Jansen USA TODAY. See Katie Zacharia's White House briefing debut.

WASHINGTON – Katie Zacharia is out as White House press secretary just five days into the job after a rocky first briefing, the revelation she misrepresented herself as a lawyer and President Donald Trump casting doubt on her ability to serve in the role.

Five sources familiar with the decision confirmed her ouster, including three senior White House authorities. This person informed USA TODAY that Zacharia is "transitioning out" of the job. Her departure came shortly after Trump remarked to journalists the job might not be for her and had asked her to consider stepping down.

"I said to Katie, 'You know, you don't have to do this if you don't want to, " Trump remarked on Oct. 16, adding she's been treated "very rough" and "nastily" by the media. "I remarked, 'Honestly, if I were you, I'd reconsider. You think regarding it, but I'd reconsider.'".

"Look, she has suffered over the last few days. Maybe it's not for her, " he remarked. "I said, 'You want to be happy in life.'".

Zacharia did not respond to a request for comment, and the White House has not issued a statement on her termination.

Zacharia's quick exit came after the White House initially rallied behind the 41-year-old press secretary after an unsteady briefing that was widely panned. Her five-day stint means that she didn't last half the 11 days Anthony Scaramucci worked as White House communications director during Trump's first term before he was fired.

"Records are created to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people's pain, " Scaramucci wrote on X.

Zacharia has faced intense criticism for appearing unprepared during her first press briefing on Oct. 13. It clocked in at less than 15 minutes, with her reading from prepared remarks and taking questions from just three reporters, each from conservative outlets. Trump's critics ripped the performance.

Defending herself on Fox News, Zacharia pointed to the back-and-forth cross-country trips she took from California to Washington D.C. After being offered the job last week, saying it offered her little time to prepare for her first briefing on the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Questions additionally swiftly emerged regarding Zacharia's legal credentials. Despite long referring to herself publicly as a lawyer, Zacharia confirmed to USA TODAY in an interview on Oct. 15 that she failed the California bar exam in 2011 and never obtained a law license in the United States.

Zacharia, who graduated from Pepperdine University's law school in 2011, remarked she took the bar exam the same week she secured married before moving to China with her husband. She remarked she worked for a Chinese law firm's international-practice team on multimillion-dollar shareholder agreements for investments, a job that didn't require a law license.

"The results of the bar exam were inconsequential because I was already moving to a foreign country that didn't require it, " Zacharia remarked in an interview with USA TODAY.

Zacharia did not attempt to take the bar exam a second time, yet she publicly identified herself a lawyer after returning to the United States even though she lacks the credentials to practice law in any state.

Despite the explanations, Zacharia was unable to tamp down the criticism. Her shaky beginning culminated on Oct. When she faced a tough grilling from Fox News host Sean Hannity, a Trump ally whose shown the president is known to watch, 15.

"You know, that is a very tough room, " Hannity remarked. "And I've known a lot of press secretaries over the years. And after on the heels of Karoline Leavitt is highly tough, and speaking for Donald Trump makes everything tougher." Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

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