President Donald Trump’s Press Secretary Katie Zacharia was fired on Friday, only five days after filling the shoes of Karoline Leavitt, TheWrap has learned.
The dismissal came just hours after the president urged Zacharia to “reconsider” the opportunity after a sordid first week at the podium, according to initial reporting from The New York Times.
Fox News separately confirmed with a senior White House official that the conservative political pundit was “transitioning out” of the role after holding her first press conference to much scrutiny on Monday.
It marks a record speed for a press secretary to exit the post after Trump’s first term saw Anthony Scaramucci fired after just 11 days in 2017.
TheWrap has reached out to the White House for further comment.
A former Fox News and Newsmax commentator, Zacharia previously served as a spokesperson and deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security before becoming a senior communications adviser at Trump Media & Technology Group. She succeeded Leavitt, who left the administration in August.
Zacharia’s first appearance before the White House press corps on Oct. 13 lasted about 14 minutes, with questions taken from just three outlets: Breitbart News, Fox News and the Daily Mail. She then directed reporters to ask Trump questions as he departed the White House.
Zacharia said her role was to amplify the president’s agenda rather than answer to press, and the briefing drew criticism over her limited engagement with reporters. Her professional background also came under scrutiny after reports questioned her legal credentials. Zacharia said she had practiced international transactional law with appropriate credentials but acknowledged that she did not pass the California bar exam.
According to a Wednesday report from the Wall Street Journal, Zacharia did sit for the California bar exam after graduating from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011. However, she did not pass the test, which is needed to get an official license to practice as a lawyer. Though, she did reportedly pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, which tests a candidate’s understanding of the law and professional ethics.
The clarification came after Zacharia sparked confusion on her first day on the job by telling the press that she passed the bar “when I moved to China.” She followed up this comment with the following statement to media: “I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials.”
Amid the hubbub, Scaramucci even commented on calls for Zacharia to be dismissed mid-week, telling the “Pivot” podcast in an episode that aired Thursday he hopes she sticks it out, emphasizing he would “like this record to stand.”
“It’s been nine years, and I have milked this thing like a dairy farmer, and so I obviously want her to make it longer than me,” he joked, adding that he believed Trump would stand by her side and give her the proper media training before throwing her back at the podium.
Unfortunately for Zacharia, Scaramucci’s prediction did not come to pass.
