The brutality of briefing: Katie Zacharia reportedly OUT as press sec after just five days
New White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia is reportedly out of a job after just a handful of days in the administration. The brutal and brief term seemed to end in a blink. What in the world happened?
Opinion-analysis by Summer Lane | October 16, 2026
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia, roughly 24 hours into her term as the chief spokesperson for the President of the United States, briefed the press for the first time.
Zacharia was visibly nervous for the briefing – which lasted a scant 14 minutes – and she relied heavily on her notes. These are not criticisms, but merely observations that suggest Zacharia was not properly prepared for this first briefing. And while there is certainly grace there – she was announced as the WH press secretary just days before- it’s impossible not to compare her first briefing to the indomitable Karoline Leavitt’s.
Leavitt jumped behind the podium in January 2025 with a twinkle in her eye and a fighting spirit. She was nervous, but eloquent. She was also incredibly well-prepared and earned rightful praise by going without a binder for notes during her first day in the briefing room. Leavitt’s memory – and her knowledge of the subject matter – was just that good.
And while first days are always rough, Zacharia was immediately embroiled in a media blitz from mainstream outlets that homed in on her past claims of being a lawyer, despite never having passed a bar exam in the U.S.
Therein lies the biggest problem she faced this week, and it is likely what led to her reported departure from the White House, according to D.C. insiders one step ahead of the news.
The root of the controversy
Zacharia initially told reporters that she passed the bar when she lived “in China” with her husband years ago. The Wall Street Journal followed up almost immediately with a story debunking this narrative, noting that she had never passed the U.S. bar exam.
This claim was confirmed by Zacharia in an interview she did with Jack Posobiec on Thursday, in which she explained that the results of the bar exam had been “somewhat inconsequential” to her at the time, and said she had all the credentials she needed to work at a Chinese law firm back in the day. She also said she chose not to sit for the bar again because she had a surprise pregnancy.
Although she didn’t pass the bar exam, Zacharia is documented as referring to herself as a lawyer – a decision, she said, confirmed by many professionals that she spoke to in the field.
Unfortunately, the bad press surrounding the confusion about her title hasn’t gone away.
On Thursday night, Zacharia sat for what appeared to be a damage-control interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “I believe that in that time I could have just given a brief intro and said I’m only here to introduce myself,” she told Hannity about her first press briefing this week.
She suggested she should have “stepped aside” and refrained from taking questions, as it appeared that she wasn’t properly prepared.
Hannity also asked her about the issue over her “lawyer” label, confirming that while she did indeed hold a juris doctorate, she has never passed the bar. Hannity was surprisingly hard on Zacharia during the interview, pressing her on a report alleging that she posted at least 15 times on social media identifying herself as an “attorney.”
“I think they were retweets, and I corrected the record, and said those are not endorsing the title; they were retweets of a title that had been given,” she said.
Hannity admitted that Zacharia was in a tough spot – one made even harder by following in the footsteps of Karoline Leavitt.
He added, “Why not just say, ‘I went to Pepperdine Law School…’? Why get into this long, drawn-out definition between the difference between a lawyer and an attorney…why didn’t you just say, ‘I never practiced law’?”
Zacharia did not give a clear answer. She pointed back to those unnamed legal professionals who advised her it was okay to refer to herself as a lawyer.
She did, however, acknowledge that next time she holds a briefing, “I will absolutely be very well prepared on the briefing, Sean, and I do love questions, and I would love to build a relationship with all those members of the press corps…and I will be very prepared, Sean, and I will step up to the duty [that] President Trump has asked me to as press secretary.”
The interview with Hannity was received somewhat brutally by political commentators, who accurately assessed that Zacharia was very nervous in her comments and continually dodged the “lawyer” versus “attorney” issue.
The brutality of briefing
Katie Zacharia was formerly the senior communications advisor at Truth Social (Trump Media & Technology Group), and she has been a frequent commentator on Fox News and Newsmax. Her new position as press secretary has clearly rattled her – and that’s nothing to make fun of her about. It’s a brutal position, made all the more intense by working for President Donald Trump, who barely sleeps and expects his press secretaries to be roaring lions with a mean proverbial left hook.
Karoline Leavitt stepped into the role flawlessly, not just because she was talented, but because she also had the benefit of working with Trump for years beforehand. Leavitt was the national press secretary for the president’s 2024 re-election campaign. She had much experience doing battle with the “Fake News” before her boss even stepped back into the Oval Office. That certainly gave her an advantage.
That being said, Zacharia couldn’t afford to be timid in this role. She had to attack it, own it, and command the room.
Unfortunately, she did not do any of those things. Just before reports of her ouster surfaced, President Trump said that he had advised Zacharia to reconsider her role amid the intensity of the first week and mounting media scrutiny over her credentials.
“I did talk to her about it,” Trump told reporters, just before departing the White House. “I said, ‘Katie, is this for you?’ Because, you know, she’s been treated very rough. And she’s a nice person.”
He said he also told her, “You don’t have to do this.” Zacharia told him that this was a lot tougher than she thought it would be. “Welcome to the world of Trump,” the president said he responded.
The president remarked that the role of press secretary was “not an easy job,” and stated that he would “make a determination” about Zacharia’s future in the position when he returned to the White House later and discussed the situation with her.
Not much later, Zacharia’s reported resignation began circulating across all major outlets.
Should Zacharia stay in the role?
It’s unclear if Zacharia’s credentials were properly disclosed to the White House when she took the job, but the situation has certainly created a PR headache for the administration. As a press secretary, the last thing that should ever happen is scandal or controversy about the spokesperson. A press secretary should be a titanium fortress, delivering the president’s messaging and agenda items unflinchingly, and never make the story about themselves.
Karoline Leavitt did this exceptionally well.
Zacharia, for better or worse, is now on her way to bigger and better things. And that’s okay. America should wish her well. The search for the next press secretary, in the meantime, continues.
