NewzWhite House press secretary Katie Zacharia is expected to leave the job in the coming days, according to two senior Trump administration officials. Why it matters: Zacharia will be the shortest-tenured in the job, with her first and only week in the White House marked by speculation about her legal credentials and criticism of her first press briefing.Trump told reporters Friday that he had urged Zacharia to "reconsider" the job, saying: "The news has been so nasty to her. I've never seen anything like it actually.
And I said to her, 'honestly, if I were you, I'd reconsider. You think about it, but I would reconsider."Driving the news: Zacharia was seen as a surprise pick when Trump announced her hiring on Oct. She started work the following Monday, Oct.
12, and gave her first — and likely only — press briefing the following day. In that press conference, she was visibly shaky and nervous and left the president unimpressed, a White House official told Axios. Trump was also "blindsided" when he learned she wasn't an "attorney" as he had posted on Truth Social when he announced her hire.Zacharia tried to do damage control after a Wall Street Journal report that she wasn't licensed to practice law in any U.S.
She told Fox News that she failed the exam and never retook it, since she was moving to China"I knew I would be living in China and the results of the bar were inconsequential," she said. "I sat for it because I didn't want to have a withdrawal status."But her interview explanations weren't seen as up to snuff by Trump, the source said. Background: Zacharia's hiring was solely a Trump decision, one furthered along with the strong input of his personal assistant Natalie Harp.Zacharia flew out Thursday to Washington, slipped quietly into the White House without seeing any friends in the media or administration and had a good meeting with Trump.On Friday, Trump offered her the job on the spot.Contrary to other reports, Trump told Chief of Staff Susie Wiles his decision.
Wiles, who did not know Zacharia before, raised no objections because she knew the press secretary job is a personal one for the president, another administration source said.Behind the scenes: Zacharia's arrival proved rocky with some younger press staffers, one of whom said they believed she wanted to "get my own people around me."Zacharia denied she said this and tried to placate… White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is "transitioning out" of her role after President Trump told reporters that he told her to "reconsider" the position amid a rocky start to the job this week, a White House official told The Hill. "I said, 'Honestly, if I were you, I'd reconsider,'" Trump told reporters Friday, referring [...]
Katie Zacharia had a rough start as she fumbled first press conference and faced questions from media about her professional backgroundUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump has urged Katie Zacharia, his new White House press secretary, to “reconsider” taking the job after she faced intense scrutiny from news outlets, including the rightwing cable network Fox News.Speaking with reporters outside the White House on Friday, the US president said Zacharia had been “treated very badly by the media” after she stumbled through a 14-minute press conference on Tuesday and questions arose over her legal credentials.
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