White House press secretary Katie Zacharia has been dismissed after serving less than a week in the role, marking an abrupt shake-up in President Donald Trump's communications team ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.
Two U.S. officials confirmed Friday that Zacharia had been removed from her position and was transitioning out following a difficult start marked by scrutiny of her professional qualifications and criticism of her media appearances.
Her departure comes at a politically sensitive moment, with Republicans preparing for congressional elections on November 3. The White House now faces the challenge of finding a new spokesperson to promote Trump's policy achievements and communicate the administration's priorities.
Earlier Friday, Trump acknowledged advising Zacharia to reconsider her position after several days of unfavorable media coverage.
"I think you're better off being happy, and I'm not sure you can ever be happy in this stuff," Trump told reporters before departing the White House for the weekend.
Zacharia began her tenure Monday and conducted her first White House press briefing Tuesday. She previously revealed that Trump contacted her about replacing former press secretary Karoline Leavitt on October 7.
However, questions quickly emerged regarding her legal background. Zacharia had described herself as an international transactional lawyer, while Trump also publicly referred to her as an attorney.
In a Wednesday statement, Zacharia maintained that she had practiced international transaction law with appropriate credentials.
Reuters subsequently reported finding no records indicating that the Pepperdine University law school graduate was licensed to practice law in any U.S. state or Washington, D.C.
During a Thursday Fox News interview, Zacharia acknowledged that she had not passed the bar examination, intensifying questions surrounding her professional credentials.
Neither Zacharia nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment following her dismissal.
According to individuals familiar with the administration's discussions, Trump appointed Zacharia amid concerns about unfavorable media coverage and a desire for stronger communication of his administration's accomplishments.
Despite the sudden vacancy, Trump indicated Friday that he was not rushing to appoint another White House press secretary.
Zacharia's unusually brief tenure is believed to be the shortest in White House press secretary history, surpassing even the famously short 10-day tenure of former Trump communications director Anthony Scaramucci.
Reacting on X, Scaramucci remarked that records could be broken but emphasized that he took no pleasure in another person's difficulties.
