Trump's new White House press secretary leaves less than a week after appointment

White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia is stepping down just days after taking the job in Washington. The departure follows criticism of her performance at a press briefing and questions about her legal credentials. A White House official, speaking anonymously, confirmed to the AFP news agency that she is "transitioning" out of the role.

Several US media outlets, including The New York Times, reported that Zacharia was fired. US President Donald Trump denied this. As reported by Fox News, he said the media had treated her harshly, and told reporters he had encouraged her only minutes earlier to reconsider, saying: "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

A short briefing and questions about her qualifications

Zacharia's first press briefing, on Tuesday, lasted less than 15 minutes. She opened by listing what she described as Trump's achievements, then took just three questions from reporters.

Scrutiny then turned to her legal background, after she failed to give a clear answer on where she had passed the bar exam, which is generally required to practise law in the United States. She holds a law degree from a California university, but on Thursday acknowledged that she had not passed the exam.

In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, a close Trump ally, she confirmed she had never retaken it. "It was never my intent to go into the practice of law," she said.

Speaking to the pro-Trump outlet Real America's Voice, Zacharia said she had registered for the exam but became "distracted and overwhelmed" by plans to move to China with her husband. She also claimed that "many people in the field" had told her she could "label myself a lawyer" because she held a law degree.