Katie Zacharia Is 'Transitioning Out' as Press Secretary After Just One Briefing

Katie Zacharia is "transitioning out" of her job as White House press secretary, a White House official who was not authorized to speak on the record told NPR on Friday. Zacharia officially started on Monday. By Friday she was on her way out, a stunning reversal for a spokeswoman who gave exactly one briefing from the podium.

That briefing came Tuesday morning, and it did not go well. Zacharia delivered a lengthy and halting opening statement that she read from notes, then called on only three reporters. Much of the scrutiny afterward focused on her credentials as an attorney rather than on anything she said about policy.

Standing next to President Trump, Zacharia was asked by reporters where she had passed the bar exam. "When I moved to China," she answered. The comment appeared to refer to what she lists on her LinkedIn page as a stretch from 2011 through 2013 working for a prominent Beijing-based law firm called Zhon Lun. NPR asked the White House to clarify whether she is a licensed attorney in the United States. In a statement, Zacharia told NPR she "practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials." She did not say whether she holds a U.S. license.

Trump himself cast doubt on her future before leaving Friday for a campaign rally in Georgia. He said he had spoken to her just before departing. "I just spoke to her about it. I said, 'Katie, is this for you?'" he told reporters. "She's been treated, I would say, pretty nastily. And I said to Katie just two minutes ago, I said, Katie, you know, you don't have to do this if you don't want." Trump said he was leaving the decision up to her but advised that "you should reconsider" serving in the position.

Zacharia, 41, is a graduate of Pepperdine's Caruso School of Law and describes herself as an attorney. Most recently she served as a communications adviser for the Trump Media & Technology Group, the company that operates Trump's Truth Social platform. She has also been a frequent pro-Trump commentator on conservative outlets including Fox News and Newsmax. Trump named her to the press secretary job earlier this month.

The timing could hardly be worse for the administration. Zacharia stepped in as Trump's chief spokesperson at a moment when his popularity has fallen to record lows and Republicans are scrambling to limit potential losses in the midterm elections, now less than three weeks away. The press secretary is the main public voice of the White House, and an exit within days of a debut leaves the West Wing without a permanent briefer as the campaign enters its final stretch.

The White House has not said who will take over briefings, or whether it has a replacement in mind. NPR's Brian Mann contributed to the reporting.