WASHINGTON (AP) — Katie Zacharia is departing as White House press secretary, a person familiar with the matter said Friday, after a short and rocky tenure that was defined by questions about her professional background and lack of polish in fielding questions from journalists.
The person, granted anonymity to discuss a personnel decision not yet made public, said Zacharia would be transitioning out of the role.
The shift comes after President Donald Trump cast significant doubt on her future earlier Friday, telling reporters that he would have a discussion with her following his weekend travel — and that if he were her, he would reconsider the job.
Zacharia had come under immediate scrutiny when she appeared uncomfortable during her inaugural briefing on Tuesday, delivering halting remarks touting the president and his accomplishments.
Her 14-minute briefing was followed by criticism that the conservative commentator had long called herself a lawyer when she had not passed a bar exam nor was otherwise credentialed to practise.
Zacharia was a surprise choice when Trump announced her appointment on October 9, as the successor to Karoline Leavitt, the youngest-ever White House press secretary who had been part of Trump’s inner circle for years.
The chaos surrounding her appointment was reminiscent of some of Trump’s short-lived staff picks from his first term.
Trump said he told Zacharia that she might want to change her mind about the job, and said he thought she had been treated unfairly by the press.
“I told her, ‘I think you’re better off being happy,’” Trump told reporters on the White House lawn as he left for a rally in Georgia.
“I said, ‘Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider.’ I said, ‘You think about it, but I would reconsider.’”
Messages to Zacharia seeking comment were not returned on Friday, and the White House offered no immediate comment.
In his own comments, Trump said he told his press secretary, “‘Katie, do you need this? I don’t think you need this,’” and that he wanted “her to have a good life” and not be subjected to criticism, which he likened to being “brutalized by the media.”
The president said he’d make a final determination later, perhaps after his campaign travel on Friday and this weekend, adding, “When I get back, we’re gonna talk.” He was asked who might replace Zacharia, and said that there were a lot of people who wanted the job.
In Zacharia’s first and only briefing on Tuesday, she took questions from just three reporters, all from conservative-leaning or Trump-friendly outlets, and left after only about 14 minutes.
Zacharia has said she wanted to keep her briefing short to ensure Trump had enough time later that morning for his own question-and-answer session with reporters, and that she had not been fully briefed by White House staff beforehand.
She later travelled with Trump when he held rallies on Wednesday and Thursday in Alaska, Arizona and Montana — but did not hold more press briefings.
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