Trump’s New Press Secretary Out After Just Seven Days

White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia is leaving her position just one week after being appointed by President Donald Trump, following a difficult debut and growing questions about her professional background.

A senior White House official confirmed Friday that Zacharia is “transitioning out” of the role, bringing an abrupt end to one of the shortest tenures in the history of the position.

Trump addressed the situation while speaking with reporters outside the White House, revealing that he had encouraged Zacharia to reconsider whether she wanted to continue serving as his chief spokesperson.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to… I think you should reconsider,” Trump recalled telling her.

“Maybe it’s not for her,” the president acknowledged.

Asked whether he had fired Zacharia, Trump rejected that characterization, saying, “No no. I want her to have a good life.”

The president also defended her against the criticism she faced during her brief tenure, adding, “She’s been brutalized by the media.”

Zacharia was appointed October 9 to replace Karoline Leavitt, but her first appearance at the White House briefing room podium quickly attracted scrutiny.

Her October 13 briefing lasted approximately 14 minutes, during which she answered questions from only three reporters.

The appearance also included several verbal mistakes, including a moment when Zacharia mistakenly referred to her husband as “my president” before correcting herself.

Questions surrounding her legal qualifications added to the controversy after Trump had previously described her as an attorney.

During a Thursday appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Zacharia acknowledged that she had never obtained a law license in the United States and had not passed the bar examination.

“I had already pre-registered for the bar exam, and basically during the summer, I knew I would be living in China and the result of the bar would be inconsequential. I sat for it because I didn’t want to have a withdraw status,” she explained.

Zacharia also defended her initial performance, arguing that she had been given limited time to prepare for the responsibilities of the position.

“What I feel is I really stepped up to the plate with very little prep time,” she said. “Given the fact that I’d been on the job less than maybe eight hours and had a briefing book in the morning, I feel like I did my very best, Sean, to deliver for the American people that day.”

📸 Fans Can’t Believe Katie Zacharia Is Already Gone ➔

Her abbreviated briefing stood in contrast to previous White House press secretaries, including Leavitt, whose opening briefing lasted nearly 47 minutes, and Sean Spicer, whose first appearance lasted approximately 79 minutes.

Earlier in the week, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung had publicly defended Zacharia, praising her qualifications and expressing confidence in her ability to communicate the administration’s accomplishments.

Before entering the position, Zacharia worked as a senior communications adviser at Trump Media & Technology Group and briefly served as a public affairs official at the Department of Homeland Security. Her departure after seven days makes her tenure even shorter than Anthony Scaramucci’s widely discussed 10-day stint as White House communications director in 2017.