White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Out After Five Days

U.S. President Donald Trump fired his new White House press secretary after just five days in the job, following a first — and only — briefing that drew widespread criticism amid questions about her competence and professional record.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said he believed the press had treated his new spokesperson, Katie Zacharia, harshly, but that he had advised her to "reconsider" the role. Shortly afterward, media outlets including Al Jazeera confirmed that Zacharia would leave the position.

Her departure makes Zacharia the shortest-serving White House press secretary in U.S. history — even shorter than Anthony Scaramucci, the White House communications director fired after 10 days during Trump's first term in 2017.

The Scaramucci episode gave rise to the term "a Scaramucci" (or "a Mooch"), used by journalists and White House watchers to joke about how long officials lasted under Trump. Now a new unit of time — "a Zacharia" — is half as long.

Recalling his own time at the White House, Scaramucci wrote on X: "Records are made to be broken. But I don't take joy in others' pain."

Why was Katie Zacharia dismissed?

The White House has not given an official reason for Zacharia's departure, but it comes amid growing concerns about her competence and professional background.

At her first and only briefing on Tuesday, Zacharia appeared uneasy at the podium and at times struggled to finish a full sentence. She stumbled while looking down at her notes, at one point mixed up "husband" and "president," and ended the briefing after 14 minutes, taking only three questions from reporters.

Doubts grew after reports that Zacharia — who holds a law degree and describes herself as a "lawyer" — studied law at university but never passed the bar exam required to practice in the United States. She later said she had worked as a lawyer in China.

In a rather awkward interview on Fox News on Thursday, conservative host Sean Hannity asked Zacharia: "Why didn't you just say: 'I have never practiced law'?"

After news of her departure emerged, Zacharia wrote on X that working for Trump was "an honor," calling him "a kind, wonderful, generous, thoughtful, passionate and hardworking man."

How was her only briefing received?

Zacharia, who succeeded former spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, was widely criticized as unprofessional and poorly prepared when she appeared before the White House press corps on Tuesday — including by a number of Trump allies.

In her interview with Hannity, Zacharia was reminded that her performance had been "panned everywhere."

Journalist and conservative commentator Megyn Kelly said Zacharia needed to "show that she is a serious person."

Jen Psaki, a former White House press secretary who served under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, compared Zacharia's troubled briefing to a comedy sketch. "Maybe being White House press secretary isn't really for Katie," she said. "It's not for everyone."

As someone who has also left the White House, Scaramucci offered Zacharia advice of his own: "Speaking as the world's leading expert on short White House tenures: turn off the news and go enjoy time with your family. Then you'll realize the Universe did you a big favor."

Who will handle the White House briefings?

It is not yet clear. The White House has not announced an official replacement, and Trump told Fox News he was "in no hurry" to fill the vacancy.

The gap in the top spokesperson role comes as the U.S. remains in conflict with Iran and enters a crucial midterm election period next month.

How many White House press secretaries has Trump had?

Zacharia is the sixth person to serve as White House press secretary under Trump. He went through four in his first term and, so far, two in his second.

Zacharia's predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, held the role from the start of Trump's second term in January 2025 and left in August to spend more time with her children.

Trump's first-term press secretaries were Kayleigh McEnany, Stephanie Grisham, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Sean Spicer.

McEnany and Spicer now work in media. McEnany hosts several programs on Fox News, while Spicer works with NewsNation and has launched his own podcast.

Huckabee Sanders is now governor of Arkansas — her home state — and is running for re-election on Nov. 3.

Grisham left the press secretary post after less than a year in 2020 and became chief of staff to first lady Melania Trump. She resigned after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and has since become one of the president's sharpest critics.

Which other Trump appointees have been fired?

Zacharia joins the list of Trump administration officials pushed out of their positions in his second term.

Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece and formerly engaged to Trump's son Donald Trump Jr., was asked to resign earlier this week after reports that she offered a political donor access to senior administration officials in exchange for money.

Earlier this year, Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi amid controversy over her handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein — a convicted sex offender — which had become a growing political problem for the administration.

A month before that, Trump dismissed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after she was questioned in Congress over a $220 million advertising campaign and her remarks about two U.S. citizens shot dead by federal agents in Minnesota.

Mike Waltz was among the first Trump administration officials removed in the second term. Waltz was fired as national security adviser in early May 2025 after he accidentally invited a journalist into a messaging app where he and other senior officials discussed plans for a military strike on Yemen.