President Donald Trump said Friday he told White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia, "If I were you, I'd reconsider," and a senior White House official told Fox News' Peter Doocy that she is "transitioning out" of the job, just days after she started.
Trump made the remarks to reporters outside the White House before leaving for a political rally in Georgia. "I think you're better off being happy," Trump said of what he told Zacharia. "There's nothing easy about this job."
Trump rejected the idea that he had fired her. "No no. I want her to have a good life," he said, adding that "she's been brutalized by the media."
Zacharia led her first and only press briefing on Tuesday, taking questions from three reporters. She has also faced scrutiny over her legal background. On Thursday she confirmed to Fox News host Sean Hannity that she did not pass the California bar exam, after describing herself as a lawyer in media appearances. As we reported, she called the bar result "somewhat inconsequential" because she moved to China in 2011, and said she had been told she could call herself a lawyer but not an "attorney at law."
Trump named Zacharia to replace Karoline Leavitt, who left the White House in late August and has since joined Fox News as a contributor. Before taking the job, Zacharia was a senior communications adviser at Trump Media & Technology Group.
The White House has not announced who will take over the briefing room. The shake-up comes 18 days before the midterm elections, as Trump campaigns for Republican candidates.
Photo: The White House photo, October 13, 2026 (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
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