WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Katie Zacharia left her job as White House press secretary Friday after five days, following criticism of her first briefing and questions about her legal credentials. Her departure came shortly after President Donald Trump publicly urged her to reconsider the position.
USA Today confirmed her ouster through five sources familiar with the decision, including three senior White House officials. Officials described her as “transitioning out,” but the administration did not release a detailed explanation for her removal.
Trump announced Zacharia’s appointment on October ninth to replace Karoline Leavitt, who left in August. Zacharia started work the following Monday and departed Friday, October sixteenth. Before joining the White House, she advised Trump Media & Technology Group, appeared on Fox News and Newsmax, and briefly worked as a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson.
Her first and only White House briefing lasted about fourteen minutes. She read prepared remarks about Trump’s agenda and took questions from three outlets before ending the session, telling reporters they could question the president before his departure for a campaign trip. Trump initially praised her performance.
The White House also defended her debut in an official statement, calling it “commanding” and highlighting her comments on Trump’s campaign schedule and plans to continue Leavitt’s new-media seating arrangement. Three days later, administration officials confirmed she was leaving.
Zacharia said she had deliberately kept the briefing short to give Trump time to answer questions. She also said White House staff had not fully briefed her beforehand. She subsequently accompanied the president on campaign travel but held no further briefings.
Scrutiny of her credentials intensified during the same week. Trump had introduced her as an attorney, and she had described herself as a lawyer in television appearances. Although Zacharia earned a law degree from Pepperdine University, she acknowledged in an October fifteenth interview with USA Today that she failed the California bar examination and never obtained a U.S. law license.
Zacharia told the newspaper she took the examination shortly before moving to China with her husband. She said she worked on international transactions at a Chinese law firm in a position that did not require a law license. She never retook the examination, USA Today reported.
In a separate interview with Human Events, Zacharia defended calling herself a lawyer. She said people in the legal profession had advised her that she could use the description while providing legal analysis rather than legal advice. She said her role as press secretary involved communicating administration policy, not offering legal opinions.
Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the State Bar of California on October fourteenth, asking it to investigate her public descriptions of her qualifications. The watchdog cited television appearances and her reported work as general counsel of Fix California.
The organization asked the bar to determine whether Zacharia had engaged in unauthorized legal practice and to refer any violations to prosecutors. The complaint contained allegations and requests for investigation; it did not establish that she had violated the law.
Fox News host Sean Hannity questioned Zacharia on Thursday about her credentials and her briefing performance. By Friday, Trump was publicly questioning whether she should remain in the job.
Speaking to reporters before leaving for Georgia, Trump said he had urged her to reconsider and blamed the media for treating her harshly. He presented the decision as hers. Administration officials subsequently confirmed her exit.
Trump said he had not hired Zacharia as a lawyer and did not regard her credentials as an issue, according to The National. Neither his remarks nor the administration’s explanation established how much the credentials dispute contributed to her departure.
Zacharia praised Trump in a farewell statement and said working for him had been an honor, without explaining why she left. Trump told Fox News on Friday that he was in no rush to name her replacement.
