Katie Zacharia ousted as White House press secretary
· Axios
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia was ousted Friday after just five days on the job, according to two senior Trump administration officials.
Why it matters: Zacharia will be the shortest-tenured press secretary in modern history, with her first and only week in the White House marked by speculation about her legal credentials and criticism of her first press briefing.
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- 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."
- "POTUS is a big fan of Katie's, and what POTUS said to the reporters is exactly what he said in private," a senior White House official said.
Driving the news: Zacharia was seen as a surprise pick when Trump announced her hiring on Oct. 9. 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. state. 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.
Before hiring Zacharia, Trump wanted to hire former Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, two of administration sources said, but she signaled she was not going to take the job.
- "She's no longer on air but she's still on the Fox payroll and the taxpayers can't compete with that," one of the sources said.
- Conservative commentator Scott Jennings was in contention but wasn't offered the job.
Behind the scenes: Zacharia's arrival concerned some younger press staffers who feared she wanted to replace them. Zacharia denied this and tried to put their minds at ease.
- Zacharia's five-day tenure makes her the shortest-serving press secretary, beating out Anthony Scaramucci's 11 days during Trump's first term. That led to his last name becoming synonymous with a unit of measurement known as "A Scaramucci."
A White House official told Axios that Zacharia and her family are having dinner tonight with Vice President Vance and Vance's family at the VP's residence at the Naval Observatory.
- "The warmth for Katie goes well beyond the president," the official said.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information throughout.
Go deeper: Trump press secretary explains failed bar exam
Barak Ravid contributed to this story.