White House press secretary Katie Zacharia out after five days

Fox - 10 Phoenix
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Oct 17, 2026
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Big developments on Capitol Hill.
Barely a week after President Trump announced her appointment,
White House Press Secretary Katie Zachariah
is leaving the administration.
Fox's Rebecca Castor has details on what went wrong during
her brief time at the press podium.
The curtain has closed on Katie Zachariah's time
at the White House podium.
After only one lackluster briefing
and scrutiny over her legal background,
President Trump decided to give her an out.
I just said, I think you should reconsider
because I think the press is really being very unfair.
President Trump wouldn't say he's firing her, but a senior White
House official confirmed Zachariah is transitioning out of the role.
A clear sign the president
and his advisers doubted she could recover from her bumpy start.
The one and only briefing Tuesday lasted 14 minutes,
and she spent most of the week clarifying her legal credentials
after the president mistakenly identified her as an attorney.
She has a law degree from Pepperdine University,
but never passed a bar exam.
Do you wish you would have disclosed to the president about the bar
and not passing the bar?
Yeah, well, Lawrence, those questions weren't asked.
I'm being hired as White House press secretary
and not White House counsel.
Zachariah now holds the record
for the shortest tenure as press secretary,
but she's well-liked behind the scenes
and will likely be used elsewhere in the administration.
The press secretary role may be open, but President Trump
is squashing rumors that he's looking for a new chief of staff.
He says he couldn't be happier with Susie Wiles
and slammed Politico for claiming he's considering replacing her.
In Washington, Rebecca Castor, Fox News.
