Katie Zacharia fired after just five days as White House press secretary

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Katie Zacharia’s brief run as White House press secretary is over.

She was fired Friday, just five days after taking the job, following a rocky debut, tough interviews on Fox News and growing questions about her qualifications.

A White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed her departure, per The Guardian. The New York Times reported she had been fired, while Fox News said she was “transitioning out” of the role.

President Donald Trump had already suggested the job might not be right for Zacharia, per USA Today, telling reporters Friday he had encouraged her to reconsider.

“I said to Katie, ‘You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,’” Trump said, adding the media had treated her “very rough” and “nastily.”

“I said, ‘Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider,’” he added.

Trump said her interviews were ‘tough’ to watch

Her departure followed two uncomfortable Fox News interviews that raised questions about whether she could effectively represent the President. Both interviews were with prominent Fox personalities who have longstanding, friendly relationships with Trump, yet their skepticism about Zacharia was hard to miss, CNN reported.

Trump confirmed he had watched the interviews, describing them as “tough.”

The most awkward exchange came Thursday night with Sean Hannity, a Trump ally and informal adviser. Hannity called Zacharia’s first press briefing, held Tuesday, “widely panned.”

Zacharia defended herself by saying she had “very little prep time.” Trump had offered her the position during their first in-person meeting about the job.

But the interviews appeared to make matters worse rather than repair the damage from her debut.

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Questions about Zacharia’s legal credentials also dogged her brief tenure

When Trump announced her appointment on Truth Social, he described her as “an attorney” and praised her as a “loyal and brilliant supporter.” He highlighted her education at Pepperdine University and its Caruso School of Law, along with her work on his election campaigns and efforts to win key swing states.

Zacharia, 41, had been working as a senior communications adviser at Truth Social since June, according to her LinkedIn profile. She had also built a career as a conservative political commentator and held communications positions.

However, she acknowledged during her interview with Hannity that she failed the California bar exam in 2011 and never tried again.

Her comments about taking the bar exam in China after her first press briefing only added to the confusion.

As she and Trump were leaving Tuesday’s briefing, a reporter asked where she had passed the bar exam and in which state.

“When I moved to China,” Zacharia replied, without explaining further.

Zacharia had spent a couple of years working in Beijing, but that did not resolve questions about her qualifications to practice law in the United States. Lawyers must meet the licensing requirements of the jurisdiction where they intend to practise.

Judd Legum, writing in his Popular Information Substack, noted that Zacharia did not appear in California’s state bar directory.

Zacharia took over from Karoline Leavitt after being offered the position on Oct. 9, according to The Guardian.

— With files from Denette Wilford