White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is "stepping away" from her role as spokesperson just one week after U.S. President Donald Trump selected her for the position, Al Jazeera reported.
Earlier on Friday, Trump told reporters that he had suggested Zacharia "take another look" at continuing in the job.
"I don't think Katie should be forced to endure what she's enduring at the hands of the media," Trump said as he left the White House. "I told her, 'Honestly, if I were you, I'd reconsider. You think about it.'"
Zacharia said she received the call about the role on Wednesday. She succeeded Karoline Leavitt.
Trump subsequently announced her appointment. In the announcement, he described her as a lawyer; however, over the past week, questions had been raised about whether Zacharia, a graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law in California, had actually passed the bar exam to become a practicing attorney.
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, she said she had not passed the bar exam.
Her tenure lasted five days — half the time Anthony Scaramucci served as communications director, who held the post for 10 days during Trump's first administration.
