White House press secretary Katie Zacharia departs after five days

White House officials confirmed that Katie Zacharia will leave the press secretary post after only five days on the job and will move to a different, as-yet-unannounced position. The decision follows a widely criticized first press briefing and revelations that Zacharia had described herself as a lawyer despite not having passed any bar exam.

Zacharia, a former conservative media commentator and senior communications adviser for Trump Media & Technology Group, was appointed by President Donald Trump on Friday and gave her inaugural briefing on Tuesday, the day after a three-day holiday weekend. The briefing lasted less than 15 minutes, during which she fielded few questions and was unable to answer one about U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

President Trump earlier said he would let Zacharia decide whether to remain in the role, noting she had been treated “pretty nastily” by the media. He added that he would discuss the situation with her and suggested she consider her options.

The departure leaves the press secretary position vacant less than three weeks before the midterm elections, a period President Trump has described as challenging for the administration’s public relations. Zacharia is scheduled to have dinner with Vice President JD Vance and his family on Friday, according to two sources.

Legal experts noted that Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine Law but has not passed the California bar exam, and there is no evidence she is licensed to practice law in any jurisdiction. A complaint filed by the Campaign for Accountability with the State Bar of California seeks an investigation into whether she violated the law by presenting herself as an attorney.