Katie Zacharia was fired as White House press secretary on Friday, US time, five days after assuming the role, according to a White House official, The Guardian reported.
Two separate White House officials said she had been “let go” and was “transitioning out” of the role, the ABC reported.
She replaced Karoline Leavitt, both outlets reported. The ABC describes Leavitt as “combative” and says she helped US President Donald Trump reshape White House coverage.
Zacharia is 41. She ran Truth Social and had worked for Trump’s social media company for only a few months when he announced her appointment, according to the ABC.
Should a White House press secretary have to hold a practising legal or media qualification?
Choose an answer, then select Vote.
What Trump Said
Trump spoke to reporters as he left the White House. “I told her, ‘I think you’re better off being happy, and I’m not sure you can ever be happy in this stuff.’ There’s nothing easy about this stuff,” he said, the ABC reported.
“I said to her honestly, ‘If I were you, I’d reconsider … think about it. But I would reconsider.'” Trump said, according to the ABC.
A Short First Briefing
Her debut briefing was on Tuesday morning, local time. It lasted less than 15 minutes, began with a slow reading of what she said were Trump’s many accomplishments and took just three questions, the ABC reported.
The Guardian called it a “14-minute exchange”, with questions from “three predominantly conservative media outlets”. She also called her husband “the president” in a gaffe, The Guardian reported.
She said she had always planned to keep the first briefing short so Trump could field questions himself, the ABC reported. “He is his own best spokesperson,” she said.
In a Thursday evening interview, Fox host Sean Hannity asked her bluntly: “What happened?” The Guardian reported.
Questions Over the Bar Exam
Zacharia had long described herself as a lawyer. In a Fox News interview on Thursday, local time, she said she did not pass the bar exam, the ABC reported.
She confirmed she took the bar once and failed, The Guardian reported. When the White House announced her appointment, its statement described her as an “attorney”, according to The Guardian.
She defended the term, arguing that a “lawyer” differs from an “attorney”, a title for those licensed to practise, The Guardian reported.
On Real America’s Voice she said she had registered for the bar exam, the ABC reported. “I was obviously incredibly distracted and overwhelmed and excited for finally being married to someone who I’d been long distance from for at least a year,” she said.
She graduated with a BA from Pepperdine University in 2007 and a law degree from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in 2011, according to her LinkedIn page and a university statement, the ABC reported.
The ABC noted that law school graduates cannot legally practise in the US without first being admitted to a state bar. Neither she nor the White House has offered evidence she passed the bar in any state or in China, where she worked for a large law firm years ago, according to the ABC.
Further reporting is on prw’s international news page.
A Briefing Room Without a Spokesperson
On Fox & Friends on Friday, host Lawrence Jones asked whether she still had the president’s confidence. “I’m standing here,” she replied, referring to speaking from the White House north lawn, The Guardian reported.
She said she hoped to “build the trust and confidence of everyone around me” but could not say when her next briefing would be, according to The Guardian.
Trump said on Friday, local time, that he was in no rush to name a new press secretary, the ABC reported.
She took the job weeks before next month’s midterm elections, with the president facing “multiple headwinds”, The Guardian reported.
Sources: ABC News, “White House press secretary Katie Zacharia leaves after just days in role”, 17 October 2026 (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-17/katie-zacharia-let-go-white-house/107278730); The Guardian, “Katie Zacharia fired after five days as White House press secretary”, 16 October 2026 (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/16/katie-zacharia-fired-press-secretary)
Photo: Harrison Keely, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Columns of the White House North Portico framed by leaves, October 2023. A file photograph used to illustrate this report.
