Katie Zacharia out as White House press secretary after 5 days in the job

Katie Zacharia, who took over as White House press secretary on Monday, has left the post after five days, US and Israeli outlets reported on Friday. The Times of Israel, carrying a Reuters report, said a White House official described her as having been "let go", shortly after President Donald Trump told reporters he had advised her to think again about the job.

The Israeli news site Ynet reported that Trump fired her, citing coverage in the United States, after a week in which her debut briefing and questions about her professional credentials drew attention. Fox News, quoting a White House official, described her as "transitioning" out of the role, according to the Reuters account.

What Trump said

Speaking to reporters as he left the White House, Trump said he had told Zacharia she might be happier away from the job. "There's nothing easy about this stuff," he said, according to Reuters. He added that he had told her that in her position, "I'd reconsider."

An earlier Ynet news alert summarised Trump's remarks as saying that perhaps she was not suited to the role. Ynet's fuller report rendered his comment as "maybe it's not for her."

A short tenure

Zacharia began on Monday and gave her first briefing on Tuesday. A news agency photograph published with the Reuters report shows her speaking to journalists in the James Brady Press Briefing Room, the room at the White House where the press secretary takes questions from the press corps, dated October 13.

According to Ynet, she succeeded Karoline Leavitt. Ynet said Zacharia appeared tense at that first appearance and wrapped it up within 14 minutes, having taken 3 questions. The Israeli Telegram news channel Abu Ali Express circulated a clip it said showed her confusing her husband with the president during that briefing.

Ynet also reported that she had difficulty explaining why she had been presented as a lawyer, although, according to the site, she had not passed the bar examinations in California. Ynet said she later faced what it called a tough interview on Fox News, the conservative US broadcaster.

Reuters, as carried by The Times of Israel, characterised the episode as a run of missteps that created further distraction for a president it described as embattled.

How the role works

The White House press secretary is the administration's main spokesperson, fielding questions from reporters in televised briefings and speaking on the president's behalf. Because the post is so visible, early performances at the podium tend to attract close scrutiny, which is the backdrop to the coverage of Zacharia's first days.

Where the accounts differ

The outlets do not use the same language for her departure. Ynet's headline says Trump fired her. The White House official quoted by Reuters said she was "let go." Fox News, as cited by Reuters, used the word "transitioning." Trump's own public remarks framed it as advice to reconsider rather than a dismissal.

The length of her tenure also varies slightly. Ynet and The Times of Israel both put it at five days. The Israeli broadcaster N12, citing the White House official quoted by Fox News, said she would finish after roughly eight days.

What the coverage does not say

None of the outlets names a successor or says who will brief reporters in the interim. They do not include any statement from Zacharia herself, and they do not explain the circumstances in which she was described as a lawyer, or by whom. It is also not clear from the material why Leavitt left the post, or whether Zacharia will take another role in the administration.