Why Trump’s latest White House press secretary lasted just five days

EXPLAINERKatie Zacharia is the shortest-serving White House press secretary after a rocky tenure, but she’s not the first to go.US President Donald Trump, joined by White House press secretary Katie Zacharia, prepares to speak to reporters as he departs the White House, in Washington, DC, US, October 13 [Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA]Published On 17 Oct 2026United States President Donald Trump’s latest press secretary has been let go after just five days on the job, following a widely criticised first – and only – White House news conference and amid scrutiny of her credentials.Trump told reporters on Friday that he believed the press had been harsh towards his new top spokesperson, Katie Zacharia, but that he had advised her to “reconsider” the role.Shortly after, Al Jazeera and other media confirmed that Zacharia would be “transitioning out” of the position.That made her the shortest-serving press secretary in US history – even shorter than the tenure of Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House communications director who was fired after 10 days on the job during Trump’s first term in office in 2017.His sacking gave rise to the term “one Scaramucci” – or “a Mooch” – which journalists and White House observers use jokingly as a measure of time to predict how long Trump officials would last in their jobs. Now, a new unit of time – “one Zacharia” – is only half as long.Recalling his own White House stint this week, Scaramucci wrote on X: “Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain.”Here’s what we know about Zacharia’s brief tenure:Why was Katie Zacharia removed as White House press secretary?The White House has not given an official reason for Zacharia’s departure, but it came amid mounting concerns about her competency and professional background.During her first and only news conference on Tuesday, Zacharia appeared uneasy at the podium and struggled at times to get through her sentences. She fumbled her words while looking down at her notes, once confused the words “husband” and “president” and ended the briefing after 14 minutes, taking only three questions from reporters.Scrutiny intensified after it emerged that Zacharia, who has a law degree and described herself as “an attorney”, had studied law at university but never passed the bar exam required to practice law in the US. She later claimed she had worked as a lawyer in China.Conservative Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Zacharia during an awkward interview on Thursday: “Why didn’t you just say: ‘I never practised law’?”Following news of her departure, Zacharia wrote on X that it had been “an honour” to work for Trump, calling him a “kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking man”.How was her one White House briefing received?Zacharia, who took over from former press secretary Karoline Leavitt, was widely criticised as unpolished and unprepared during her appearance before the White House press corps on Tuesday this week, even by many of Trump’s allies.During Hannity’s interview with Zacharia, he noted that she had been “widely panned” for her performance.Conservative journalist and commentator Megyn Kelly said Zacharia needed “to present as a serious person”.Jen Psaki, a former White House press secretary who worked under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, compared Zacharia’s troubled briefing to a comedy skit. “Maybe this whole White House press secretary thing isn’t really for Katie,” she said. “It’s not for everybody.”As a fellow White House deportee, Scaramucci gave Zacharia some advice. “Speaking as the world’s leading expert on short White House tenures: turn off the news and go enjoy your family. In time you’ll realize that the Universe did you a major favor,” he wrote on X.Who will take over White House press briefings now?That remains to be seen.The White House has not announced a permanent replacement, and Trump told Fox News he is “not in a hurry” to fill the role.The vacancy leaves Trump without a top spokesperson as the US remains mired in a conflict with Iran and heads into crucial midterm elections next month.How many press secretaries has Trump gone through?Zacharia was the sixth person to serve as White House press secretary under Trump. He went through four of the officials during his first term and, so far, two in his second.Zacharia’s predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, had held the position since the start of Trump’s second term in January 2025. She resigned in August to spend more time with her children.Trump’s first-term press secretaries were Kayleigh McEnany, Stephanie Grisham, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Sean Spicer.McEnany and Spicer now work in media. McEnany hosts several shows on Fox News, while Spicer contributing to NewsNation and has launched his own podcast.Huckabee Sanders currently serves as the governor of her home state of Arkansas, where she is seeking re-election on November 3.Grisham left the press secretary position after less than a year in 2020 and became First Lady Melania Trump’s chief of staff. She resigned that role after the January 6, 2021 insurrection and has since become a major critic of the US president.Zacharia joins a roll call of Trump administration officials to be pushed out during his second term.Kimberly Guilfoyle, the US ambassador to Greece who was previously engaged to Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr, was asked to step down from her role earlier this week after reports emerged that she offered a political donor access to senior administration officials in exchange for money.Earlier in the year, Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi amid controversy over her handling of files relating to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which had become a growing political problem for the administration.Mike Waltz was one of the first Trump administration officials to be removed during his second term. Waltz was fired as national security adviser in early May 2025 after he mistakenly invited a journalist into a messaging application in which he and other top administration officials discussed military attack plans on Yemen.