Katie Zacharia is out as White House press secretary after just 5 days on the job

Katie Zacharia, US President Donald Trump's new White House press secretary, has lost the post just five days after taking charge. She was removed from the position on Friday (October 16) amid controversy over her first news briefing, questions about her legal credentials and criticism from the media. Her tenure is being seen as one of the shortest for a press secretary in White House history.

On Friday afternoon, before leaving for a campaign rally in Georgia, Trump spoke to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House. He said he had advised Zakaria to reconsider the new role. Trump said Zakaria should think about whether she needs to take on so much pressure. He suggested, however, that she could continue working with him in some other capacity.

Three people familiar with the matter told The New York Times that Zakaria had been removed as press secretary. White House communications director Steven Cheung later said Zakaria would move to a new role, though no details of her new position were provided. On Friday night, Zakaria described working with Trump as an honor on social media and praised the president.

Last week, Trump abruptly named the Fox News commentator Zakaria as press secretary. She formally took office on Monday and held her first news briefing on Tuesday. After she read a prepared statement, the question-and-answer session with reporters lasted only five and a half minutes. Controversy over her legal qualifications followed. Although Trump had introduced her as an "attorney," it later emerged that she had not passed the bar exam.

The controversy deepened when a New York Times reporter asked her in which US state she had passed the bar. Zakaria replied, "When I move to China." She later claimed she had misheard the question. On Thursday night, she was also pressed with tough questions about her legal credentials in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News. The same issue came up the next day on "Fox & Friends."

Zakaria's removal comes amid a week of turmoil within the Trump administration. During the same period, US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle was removed, rifts emerged among several people close to the administration, and questions were raised about the personal communications and financial activities of people in government roles. These developments have renewed discussion about the administration's internal situation.

During Trump's first term, White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci was fired 10 days after taking the job, which was then considered the shortest tenure on record. After news of Zakaria's removal, Scaramucci wrote on social media that records are made to be broken, but that he takes no pleasure in other people's misery.