Five days in the briefing room
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is leaving the job after less than a week, according to people familiar with the matter, and President Donald Trump publicly questioned whether she wanted to keep it.
Zacharia, who held her first briefing on Tuesday, told reporters at the podium that she was honored by the role. By Friday, ABC News reported that she was transitioning out, citing sources. The White House has not announced a replacement.
"You don't have to do this"
Trump told reporters that he had pulled Zacharia aside and asked her to reconsider. "I said, 'Katie, you know, you don't have to do this if you don't want,'" he said. "She said, 'This is a lot tougher.' I said, 'Welcome to the world of Trump.'"
The president suggested the press had treated her harshly, pointing to a difficult interview on Fox News and a rough appearance on Fox and Friends. He added that he told her two minutes earlier that she did not have to stay.
Zacharia came to the press office from Trump Media, the company behind the president's Truth Social platform, and had earlier spent a short stretch at the Department of Homeland Security during the second Trump administration. She was not a career press aide, and her first briefing drew attention for comments about plumbing standards in China rather than for administration policy.
A churn that is drawing notice
The turnover is unusual even by the standards of an administration where senior staff changes are frequent. Press secretaries normally serve for years, building relationships with the White House press corps. A departure after one briefing leaves the briefing room without a regular spokesperson while the administration manages wars in the Middle East, an energy price shock and a midterm election campaign.
Deputy press secretary roles have not yet been spelled out publicly, and it is unclear who will take questions at the next briefing. Trump said he would support whatever Zacharia decided, calling her a good person who had been put in a hard spot. For reporters covering the White House, the practical effect is simple: the on-camera voice of the administration is again an open question.