- Katie Zacharia fired after five days as Press Secretary.
- Dismissal occurred mid-interview with Wall Street Journal.
- Questions arose regarding her qualifications and bar exam.
Katie Zacharia was sitting in her West Wing office giving an interview to The Wall Street Journal about her new role as White House press secretary when senior adviser Jason Miller knocked on her door.
Miller asked her to step out to meet with Vice President JD Vance. Minutes later, Zacharia was fired, ending her tenure just five days after taking over the role.
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The Moment Katie Zacharia Was Fired
Zacharia arrived at work on Friday and attended a morning meeting with the communications team in the Roosevelt Room, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Around 1 PM, while she was giving the interview to the WSJ, Miller knocked on her door and said, "JD wanted to chat with us real quick."
As Zacharia walked from her office to meet Vance, President Trump was at his new helipad, where he recalled speaking with her earlier that day.
"I said, 'Is this for you, Katie? Because honestly, you don't need this," Trump told reporters, stating he told her he would reconsider the job if he were in her position.
Zacharia returned neither to her office nor to the interview.
Speaking to the WSJ by phone later that evening, she said she did everything possible "to effectuate a briefing in the limited time and information I had."
"My goal was to serve President Trump and the American people to the best of my ability," Zacharia added.
Katie Zacharia's Tenure As White House Press Secretary
Zacharia's tenure was rocky from the start. Her first press briefing was widely described as lacklustre, and questions were quickly raised about her background and qualifications.
ALSO READ: 'You're Better Off Being Happy': Trump Fires Katie Zacharia After 5 Days As Press Secretary
While she had long described herself as a lawyer, she did not clarify whether she had passed the bar exam in any US state or in China, where she previously worked for a law firm. The Wall Street Journal later confirmed that she had never passed the bar exam.
Her subsequent efforts to defend herself in back-to-back appearances on Fox News failed to address the criticism.
The White House dismissed speculation regarding her firing, stating that Zacharia will remain with the Trump administration in a new role that has not yet been announced.
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