Katie Zacharia is out as White House press secretary after five days, and Trump says he did not fire her

Katie Zacharia is out as White House press secretary. She started on Monday 12 October and was gone by Friday 16 October. That is five days, and it is less than half of the 11 days Anthony Scaramucci lasted as White House communications director in 2017.

Two of the biggest US news outlets used two different words for it. Fox News says a senior White House official told its correspondent Peter Doocy that she is "transitioning out." CNN says Trump "fired" her, citing advisers to the president.

That split is the whole story. Trump himself was asked and said no.

Did Trump fire Katie Zacharia or did she quit?

It depends who you ask.

Fox News reports that a senior White House official used the phrase "transitioning out" and that a source close to the matter confirmed her departure. That wording sounds like a resignation, but nobody has said she resigned.

CNN reports that Trump fired her, ending what it called a turbulent week. The New York Times reported the same, citing three sources, and Reuters quoted two White House officials who said she was "let go."

Trump was asked directly. He said "No no. I want her to have a good life," according to Fox. He also said he had told her "you should reconsider" and that "maybe it's not for her."

ABC News quotes him saying he told her she did not have to do this if she did not want to. He added that she said the job was "a lot tougher" than she thought. His reply was "Welcome to the world of Trump."

How many days did Katie Zacharia last as press secretary?

Five days, if you count her working days. Here is how we counted.

Trump announced her pick on Friday 9 October. Her first full day at work was Monday 12 October, according to CNBC's reading of the timeline. Her first briefing was Tuesday 13 October. Reports of her exit came on Friday 16 October. Monday to Friday, counting both days, is five days. CNN's own headline says "five days."

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Count from the day Trump named her and it is seven days. Fox News says she left "after about seven days."

Photo: White House Press Office / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Is that really shorter than the Scaramucci record?

Yes, on both counts. Scaramucci was named communications director on 21 July 2017 and removed on 31 July. That is 10 days, or 11 if you count both ends, which is how it is usually quoted.

Fox reports that an unnamed White House official warned this week that she needed to improve "fast" or she would "break Scaramucci's record." She broke it.

Readers noticed straight away. One popular reply to the news says she did not even last half a Scaramucci.

CNBC and Yahoo News both say that, if confirmed, she would be the shortest-serving White House press secretary in US history. Neither names the old record holder, so we are not guessing.

Who was Katie Zacharia before the job?

She is a 41-year-old mother of four and a former spokesperson at the Department of Homeland Security. She was also a conservative commentator and a communications adviser to Trump Media, the company behind Truth Social.

Her time at DHS ended after only weeks, as we reported in our full timeline of her career. Her press secretary job was shorter still.

Two jobs in one year, each over in days or weeks, is a pattern readers will be asking about.

Why was Katie Zacharia pushed out?

No one has given an official reason. Here is what the reports point to.

Her first briefing on Tuesday lasted 14 minutes and took three questions. She also called her husband "my president" by mistake. Fox lists both.

Then came her law credentials. She had called herself a lawyer and attorney. On the Hannity show she admitted she did not pass the bar exam and has no US law licence, Fox reports. Reuters says it could not find a record of her being licensed in any US state or Washington DC.

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She has said she missed the bar because of her wedding and a move to China, and that she never planned to practise law, according to Reuters. We covered the row in our first story on her briefing and career.

Social media made its own joke of it. One reply says she was practising law without a licence, and now press secretary without a job.

Who is the new White House press secretary?

Nobody has been named. None of the reports we read, from Fox, CNN, ABC, CNBC or Reuters, names a replacement or an acting press secretary.

Zacharia replaced Karoline Leavitt, who left at the end of August after having her second child. Trump said Leavitt would stay on as one of his top outside advisers. Leavitt's own story is still running, and she starts at Fox News on 1 November.

The White House communications director, Steven Cheung, had called Zacharia "a fabulous and wonderful addition to the team" only a day earlier, according to Fox.

Photo: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

What did Katie Zacharia say about her week?

CNN, ABC and CNBC include no new statement from her about leaving.

Earlier, Fox quotes her saying she "really stepped up to the plate with very little prep time." Trump said she had been treated "very, very unfairly" and "brutalized by the media."

Does the White House have a podium and nobody to stand at it?

For now, yes. The briefing room has hosted very few regular briefings since September. Zacharia's was the first since Vice President JD Vance took questions on 3 September, according to CBS.

The midterm elections are weeks away. Trump has said his team is "not doing a good job of public relations," NBC reports, and his approval sat at 41% in an NBC News poll last month.

So the most visible job in his communications team is empty again, and the man who filled it for five days says he did not fire her.

Scaramucci lasted 11 days and has been the punchline for nine years. Zacharia just made him look like a veteran.