White House press secretary Katie Zacharia exiting role
· DWZacharia, having served only five days in the role, is now the shortest-serving press secretary in White House history. Her departure follows a rocky debut at the podium and controversy surrounding her background.
New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is on the way out from her position, The New York Times and other US news outlets reported on Friday.
Zacharia's departure leaves Trump without a key spokesperson with a little over two weeks before November's midterm elections.
Zacharia's week on the job
Zacharia started her new role just five days ago, taking over for Karoline Leavitt. She had a nervy first White House briefing with journalists on Tuesday, fielding just three questions and leaving the podium after fewer than 14 minutes.
The White House website said later that day that "Katie Zacharia delivered a commanding inaugural press briefing as the 37th White House Press Secretary."
Earlier on Friday, President Donald Trump suggested that Zacharia might be leaving. "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," Trump told reporters.
He added: "I said to her honestly, 'If I were you, I'd reconsider... think about it. But I would reconsider.'"
Controversy over Zacharia's legal background
Last Friday, Trump announced Zacharia's appointment as the new press secretary. However, she became embroiled in controversy when it was revealed that her earlier claims of being a lawyer were false.
Until last week, Zacharia was a commentator for conservative outlets Fox News and Newsmax. She also advised Trump Media and Technology, the company behind Trump's Truth Social platform.
Zacharia has also long described herself as a lawyer, but her credentials remain unverified. While she graduated from law school, neither she nor the White House has provided evidence that she passed the bar exam in any state or in China, where she worked for a large law firm years ago.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Zacharia was an associate at Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing from 2011 to 2013. She was also a general counsel at Fix California, an advocacy group founded by Trump ally Richard Grenell, from 2024 to 2025. Grenell served as acting director of national intelligence in 2020.
Zacharia earned her law degree from Pepperdine University in 2011. While nearly all licensed US lawyers first obtain a law degree, law school graduates cannot legally practice law in the US without first being admitted to a state bar.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery
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