Katie Zacharia out as White House press secretary after five days
A White House official confirmed to CNBC that Zacharia is transitioning out of the role after widespread criticism of her only press briefing and scrutiny of her legal background.
At a glance
- Katie Zacharia is leaving as White House press secretary after five days, a White House official confirmed to CNBC.
- Trump told reporters he suggested she reconsider the job and said he would let her decide whether to stay.
- She drew criticism over a shaky first briefing and scrutiny about her legal background after reports she never passed a bar exam.
Katie Zacharia is leaving her job as White House press secretary after just five days, a White House official confirmed to CNBC on Friday, following criticism of her performance and scrutiny of her legal background.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the staffing shake-up, confirmed Fox News' report that Zacharia is "transitioning" out of the role. The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on President Donald Trump's remarks about her.
Trump suggested she reconsider
Earlier Friday afternoon, Trump told reporters outside the White House that he had raised the idea of quitting with Zacharia. "I just spoke to her about it. I said, 'Katie, is this for you?'" Trump said. "'If I were you, I'd reconsider,'" he said he told her.
Trump said Zacharia had been treated "very rough," called her "a nice person" and accused the media of treating her "very badly." Asked whether he would keep her in the role, he said, "I'm going to let her make that decision."
Shorter than a Scaramucci
Five days is shorter than Anthony Scaramucci's tenure as White House communications director in 2017, which lasted less than 11 days and gave rise to the joking unit of measurement known as a "Scaramucci." By that metric, Zacharia lasted one-half of one Scaramucci.
"Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people's pain," Scaramucci wrote on X later Friday.
Criticism after a single briefing
Zacharia, a conservative commentator who worked at Trump Media & Technology Group, faced widespread criticism after leading a short and shaky first press briefing on Tuesday, her only one, in which she delivered halting remarks and took questions from just three reporters. She also came under mounting scrutiny about her legal background.
On Fox News on Thursday night, host Sean Hannity called her debut briefing "widely panned" and asked about her past claims about her legal work in light of reports that she never passed a bar exam. Zacharia has defended identifying herself as a lawyer, drawing a distinction between that label and calling herself an "attorney." Hannity pointed out that she had called herself an attorney in multiple social media posts. "I think they were retweets, and I corrected the record," she replied. Trump said Hannity was "a little bit tough" on her.
Trump announced her selection to replace Karoline Leavitt, who left the Trump administration in late August, in a Truth Social post in which he called Zacharia "an attorney." Her first day was Columbus Day. He spoke to reporters before heading to Georgia for a political rally, with 18 days until the midterms.
Source: CNBC Top News.
Questions and answers
- Why did Katie Zacharia leave as White House press secretary?
- A White House official confirmed to CNBC that she is transitioning out of the role after five days. President Trump said he suggested she reconsider the job and that he would let her make the decision.
- How long did Katie Zacharia last as press secretary?
- Five days, shorter than Anthony Scaramucci's tenure as White House communications director in 2017, which lasted less than 11 days and became the joking measure known as a "Scaramucci."
- What did Sean Hannity ask Katie Zacharia?
- On Fox News, Hannity called her debut briefing "widely panned" and asked about her past claims about legal work after reports she never passed a bar exam. She said she had corrected the record.
