Katie Zaharia Leaves White House Press Secretary Post After First Week

Katie Zaharia, the new White House press secretary in US President Donald Trump's administration, is being removed from her post after her first week on the job. Two US officials told CBS News about it on Friday. The press secretary is the administration's official spokesperson to the media, so such a rapid change in the role has drawn attention.

The New York Times was the first to report the dismissal. Some White House staff learned of the change from the news. One aide said Zaharia had spent the whole week unusually isolated and had not carried out the duties of a press secretary. The aide added that nobody expected her to stay long enough to be involved in real decision-making.

Trump's remarks

On Friday Trump hinted that Zaharia might not remain in the role for long. He said he had advised her to reconsider taking the job, arguing that the press had treated her badly. Trump also mentioned that he had met her family the day before.

Zaharia was picked for the post a week before her removal. She replaced Karoline Leavitt, who left the position in August.

Questions over qualifications

Soon after her appointment, attention turned to Zaharia's qualifications and the details in her résumé. CBS News and other outlets reported that she had presented herself as a lawyer for years. She graduated from Pepperdine University's law school but failed the California bar exam in 2011, which she herself confirmed on Thursday.

She told The New York Times that the president of Pepperdine University once advised her to call herself a "lawyer" rather than an "attorney". She told conservative commentator Jack Posobiec that she had never described herself as an "attorney at law" and stressed that a lot of false information was circulating about it.

Comparison with Scaramucci

The abrupt reversal recalled the tenure of Anthony Scaramucci, who lasted only 11 days as White House communications director during Trump's first term. Scaramucci wrote on X that records are meant to be broken, but that he takes no pleasure in other people's suffering.