Breaking: White House press secretary Katie Zacharia leaves after just days in role

Topic:World PoliticsPosted Sat 17 Oct 2026 at 5:40amSat 17 Oct 2026 at 5:40am, updated Sat 17 Oct 2026 at 6:19amSat 17 Oct 2026 at 6:19amKatie Zacharia stumbled over her words at her first White House press conference. (Reuters: Kevin Lamarque)White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is leaving the role after days in the job, news agencies are reporting, citing administration sources.Earlier, US President Donald Trump indicated he had encouraged her to reconsider her position."I told her, 'I think you're better off being happy, and I'm not sure you can ever be happy in this stuff.' There's nothing easy about this stuff," he said to reporters while departing the White House."I said to her honestly, 'If I were you, I'd reconsider … think about it. But I would reconsider.'"Ms Zacharia only began her job five days ago, taking over from the combative Karoline Leavitt, who helped Mr Trump reshape White House coverage by bringing in more friendly outlets and fiercely attacking critical media.Ms Zacharia had got off to a rocky start with her debut press room briefing Tuesday morning, local time.It lasted less than 15 minutes, beginning with a remarkably slow reading of what she said were Mr Trump's many accomplishments, and then taking just three questions from journalists.She was then plunged into controversy when it emerged that her earlier claims of being a lawyer were false.Ms Zacharia's credentials were further questioned when she appeared on conservative media outlet Real America's Voice.In it she said she had registered to take the bar exam but was then "distracted and overwhelmed" by plans to move to China with her husband."I was obviously incredibly distracted and overwhelmed and excited for finally being married to someone who I'd been long distance from for at least a year," Ms Zacharia said."We just said, 'Let's take this time, and I'll take the bar and see what happens.' The results are somewhat inconsequential because I knew I wouldn't need the bar in China, and we left shortly thereafter," she said.