Trump’s new press secretary out after just 5 days in the role

By Reuters Today, 9:09 pm

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White House press secretary Katie Zacharia speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, October 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia was “let go” from the role, a White House official says, after US President Donald Trump said he had told her to reconsider the job following public scrutiny.

“I told her: ‘I think you’re better off being happy, and I’m not sure you can ever be happy in this stuff.’ There’s nothing easy about this stuff,” Trump told reporters while departing the White House.

He added: “I said to her honestly, ‘If I were you, I’d reconsider… think about it. But I would reconsider.'”

Fox News, citing a White House official, later reported that Zacharia was “transitioning” out of the role of press secretary. Zacharia started the job on Monday and held her debut White House briefing on Tuesday.