Katie Zacharia Out as White House Press Secretary After Five Days

Katie Zacharia’s tenure as White House press secretary appears to be over after less than a week on the job.

President Donald Trump has fired Zacharia, advisers to the president said Friday, Oct. 16, just one week after he named her to one of the most visible roles in Washington. The New York Times first reported the news, citing three people familiar with the matter.

The White House offered a softer description of her exit. A senior White House official said Zacharia was “transitioning out” of the role. When reporters pressed Trump on whether he had fired her, he walked back that characterization.

As of Friday afternoon, the White House had not named a replacement. The official @PressSec account on X, previously run by former press secretary Karoline Leavitt, never switched over to Zacharia.

A Short and Turbulent Tenure

Trump announced his pick on Oct. 9 in a post on Truth Social, describing Zacharia as “a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning.” At the time, she was working as a senior communications adviser at Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, a role she had held since June.

Before joining Trump Media, Zacharia spent about two months as a spokesperson at the Department of Homeland Security. She was also a frequent conservative commentator on Fox News and Newsmax. She served as a legal adviser for Fix California, a conservative group founded by Trump ally Richard Grenell.

Her selection came together quickly. The White House had reportedly struggled to fill the position with higher-profile names, several of whom had previously criticized Trump.

Zacharia replaced Leavitt, who announced her departure Aug. 12 and left the White House Aug. 27, saying she wanted to spend more time with her young children. Leavitt is set to join Fox News Channel as an on-air contributor beginning Nov. 1.

A Brief First Briefing

Zacharia faced the White House press corps for the first time on Tuesday, Oct. 13. She took only a handful of questions before abruptly ending her first briefing, explaining that the president was heading to Marine One for a trip to Alaska.

During her brief time at the lectern, Zacharia said her goal was to amplify the president’s message, calling Trump “his own best spokesperson.” She also said she viewed the job as no different from the way she had advocated for him outside government.

The briefing still produced news. Zacharia announced that Trump had asked for the resignation of Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece. As Trump left the White House that day, he praised Zacharia’s performance to reporters.

Questions About Her Legal Credentials

Within days of her appointment, Zacharia faced growing scrutiny over her description of herself as a lawyer. The State Bar of California said it had no record of her being licensed to practice law in the state.

The watchdog group Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the State Bar of California, urging it to investigate whether she had misrepresented her credentials. In California, presenting oneself as a lawyer without a license is a crime.

Zacharia earned a law degree from Pepperdine University. In a statement provided by the White House, she said she had practiced international transaction law with the appropriate credentials.

What Trump Said Friday

Hours before reports of her firing surfaced, Trump suggested he had doubts about the arrangement. He told reporters Friday morning that he had encouraged Zacharia to think carefully about the job, saying he told her, “I would reconsider.”

The mixed messages left her status unclear for much of the day, with some officials describing a firing and others calling it a transition.

The shake-up comes just weeks before the November midterm elections. It leaves the White House without a permanent press secretary during one of the busiest stretches of the political calendar. It was not immediately clear who would brief reporters in the meantime or how quickly Trump would name a successor.

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