SHE LASTED FIVE DAYS AS PRESS SECRETARY! | Bar-exam scrutiny piled up, Trump told her to reconsider, and Katie Zacharia is already out

Five days. That’s how long Katie Zacharia lasted as White House press secretary — and now she’s out.

Senior administration officials confirmed Friday that Zacharia is leaving the podium job and transitioning into a new role to be announced later, NBC News, CBS News, the Associated Press, The Washington Post and Politico reported. She had succeeded Karoline Leavitt, who left at the end of August after serving since the start of Trump’s term in January 2025.

Trump announced the appointment the previous Friday. Her first briefing came Tuesday morning after the holiday weekend. It lasted under 15 minutes, with few questions. She couldn’t say whether the United States had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine. During that same briefing, after a reporter asked about misconduct allegations, she announced Trump had asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as U.S. ambassador to Greece. Guilfoyle denied the allegations and stepped down within hours.

Then the scrutiny hit. The Wall Street Journal first reported she had represented herself as a lawyer but had not passed the California bar. A senior administration official confirmed it Thursday. Zacharia told Jack Posobiec Thursday she hadn’t passed. She’s a Pepperdine Law graduate who said she practiced law in China; NBC found no evidence she was licensed in any state, and experts say only Chinese citizens can sit for the Chinese bar. The Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the California State Bar.

Earlier Friday, Trump said the media treated her “nastily,” told her she doesn’t have to do this, and said he would let her decide. He added that if he were her he’d “reconsider,” and mentioned her “beautiful husband and family.”

The tenure is shorter than Anthony Scaramucci’s 11 days as White House communications director in the first term. Scaramucci posted: “Records are made to be broken. But I take no please in other people’s pain.”

The exit leaves a vacancy less than three weeks before the midterms, with Trump already complaining about bad PR. Sources say she was still scheduled for dinner Friday with Vice President JD Vance’s family at the Naval Observatory.

Sources: NBC News — White House press secretary Katie Zacharia out after 5 days · AP — Katie Zacharia out as Trump press secretary · CBS News — Trump’s Katie Zacharia White House press secretary

Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration by Bugle Blast.