Katie Zacharia out as White House press secretary after five days and one briefing

Katie Zacharia is being removed as White House press secretary after five days in the job, two US officials told CBS News on Friday 16 October. The New York Times first reported the decision, and NPR said the White House confirmed she was out.

President Trump had announced her as his pick about a week earlier to replace Karoline Leavitt, who stepped aside in August.

One briefing

Zacharia held her first and only briefing on Tuesday 13 October. According to CBS News, she read prepared remarks for about 10 minutes and then took questions from only three outlets: Breitbart, Fox News and the Daily Mail. The briefing drew heavy criticism from the White House press corps.

The bar exam questions

Questions then arose about her CV. She graduated from Pepperdine Law School but failed the California bar exam in 2011, CBS News reported; the Wall Street Journal had first raised it. She acknowledged the failed exam on Thursday and said she had described herself as a "lawyer" but never as an "attorney at law".

An aide told CBS News she spent the week isolated and did not function as press secretary.

What Trump said

Speaking before leaving the White House on Friday, Trump said he had told her that if he were her he would "reconsider" the job, and added that she has a beautiful family. Sources told CBS News she was expected to take another role in the administration soon. Zacharia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The White House has not said who will take over the podium.

How short is five days

CBS News compared her stint with Anthony Scaramucci's 11 days as White House communications director in Trump's first term in 2017. At five days, hers was shorter still.

For readers in Pakistan, the daily White House briefing is where Washington's line on Iran, the Hormuz attacks and South Asia is usually first set out on camera, so who stands at the podium matters well beyond US politics.