Katie Zacharia exits White House press secretary role after five days

Katie Zacharia is leaving her post as White House press secretary, the BBC confirmed on Friday, ending a tenure that began with a 14-minute inaugural briefing and collapsed under sustained scrutiny of her legal credentials.

President Donald Trump told reporters outside Marine One that he had advised Zacharia she did not have to remain in the role, saying she had been treated "pretty nastily" by the media. His remarks came shortly before news of her departure was confirmed.

Zacharia's briefing on Tuesday drew immediate criticism: she answered three questions, read from a notebook, and at one point referred to her husband as the president. In the days that followed, press reporting raised questions about whether she had passed the bar exam. She confirmed on Thursday that she had not, saying she had practised international transaction law in China under "appropriate credentials."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries posted on X that her exit was evidence of wider dysfunction in the Republican administration, with midterm elections approaching.