Katie Zacharia is leaving the White House press secretary job after five days, a White House official confirmed Friday. President Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House earlier that day that he had suggested she quit, asking her, according to Trump, “Katie, is this for you?”
Zacharia, a conservative commentator who worked at Trump Media & Technology Group, faced criticism after a shaky first briefing. She ended her only briefing Tuesday after taking questions from three reporters in less than six minutes, during which she disclosed that U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle had been asked to step down.
Zacharia said Friday night on X that it was an honor to work for Trump and praised his leadership. The exit followed scrutiny of her legal background, including questions from Fox News host Sean Hannity about past claims about her legal work and reports that she never passed a bar exam. Trump had announced her selection in an Oct. 9 Truth Social post to replace Karoline Leavitt, who left the administration in late August.