White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia was “let go” from the role , a White House official said on Friday (October 16, 2026), after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had asked her to reconsider the position following public scrutiny.
Katie Zacharia, a communications adviser for President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, was offered the position of White House Press Secretary following Karoline Leavitt’s departure in August 2026. Trump announced on Friday (October 9, 2026) that Ms. Zacharia faced questions on Wednesday (October 14, 2026) about her legal career before becoming the top spokesperson for President Trump. During her first press briefing on Tuesday (October 13, 2026), she took questions from only three reporters before ending the briefing in less than 15 minutes. Meanwhile, the Campaign for Accountability, a political ethics organisation, called on the California Bar Association on Wednesday (October 14, 2026) to investigate the matter.
Mr. Zacharia would succeed Ms. Leavitt as White House Press Secretary . In a post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump described Ms. The group was founded by Richard Grenell, who has served as Mr. Trump’s envoy to Venezuela and is the interim president and executive director of the Kennedy Centre in Washington. Ms. Her performance drew criticism from some media commentators and political analysts, although Mr.
Zacharia as “a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning”. He said she had worked on his presidential campaigns, particularly in key battleground states. She previously worked as a legal adviser for Fix California, a conservative organisation that says it seeks to challenge what it describes as “the left’s stranglehold” on California politics. Trump later said: “I thought she was very good. “In California, calling yourself a lawyer without a licence isn’t puffery; it’s a crime,” the organisation said in a statement.
