Katie Zacharia’s White House Press Secretary Tenure Ends

Katie Zacharia’s tenure as White House press secretary ended after five days, with White House officials confirming she was being fired, according to remarks reported by President Donald Trump on October 16. Trump said he had urged Zacharia to reconsider the job, telling reporters he wanted her to have a good life and believed she had been treated unfairly by the media. Trump described asking Zacharia whether she needed the position and said he had advised her to think about whether she could be happy in a demanding role. He also said he intended to speak with her before reaching a conclusion. The officials’ confirmation that she was being fired was relayed to Reuters; the accounts provided no direct statement from Zacharia about who initiated her departure or the decision process. Zacharia’s short tenure followed scrutiny of her legal credentials and her first press briefing. In that briefing, she took three questions and was unable to answer whether the United States had suspended intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, according to one account. Her performance and credentials became subjects of public attention, though the sources do not establish that either was the stated...