by Alexa Cloutier ’28 on October 22, 2026
News - National & Global
After less than a week, Katie Zacharia has left her role as White House press secretary. In an Instagram post, Zacharia writes, “It was an honor to work for [Trump].” During her five days in the position, Zacharia’s time as press secretary was quite turbulent. Her credentials and qualifications were continuously questioned by various news outlets. Zacharia had referred to herself as a lawyer many times. However, she has never passed the bar exam in any state or in China, where she worked for a law firm.
In statements with reporters, Trump stated, “I said to [Zacharia] honestly if I were you, I would reconsider…I told her, I think you are better off being happy, and I am not sure you’re gonna be happy in this job.” These comments from Trump follow his decision to appoint Zacharia as press secretary and her subsequent firing just days later.
In her first—and only—press conference, Zacharia only answered three questions in 14 minutes. Further, Zacharia only took questions from conservative news outlets, and it appeared she had their names written down ahead of time. She spent the majority of the conference reading from a script and stumbling over her words. Several advisors and officials had negative reviews following the briefing, with one describing it to CNN as “brutal.”
Zacharia’s briefing, which has been described as awkward and embarrassing, and her lack of qualifications, could not have come at a worse time for the Trump administration. In late September, nearly $22 million in taxpayer dollars were spent on pro-Trump campaign ads. Nearly $10 million was spent after Oct. 5, when Trump pledged to fund the ads privately. The ads faced criticism from both sides of the political aisle. Additionally, the ads faced scrutiny from the public, with 86 percent of Americans and 80 percent of Republicans saying the ads were inappropriate. With the midterms rapidly approaching, this kind of scrutiny could be detrimental to the Trump administration. Zacharia’s hiring and swift firing seem to be the cherry on top of ongoing PR nightmares for the administration.
On Oct. 16, Zacharia appeared on Fox and Friends. When asked if she wished she had disclosed to the president that she had not passed the bar, she responded, “…those questions weren’t asked.” In the case of Zacharia, the issue is not her qualifications, or lack thereof, but rather the failure of Trump and the White House to properly vet the people they hire. The representative and spokesperson for the President of the United States presented herself as a lawyer, when she is not. Being a lawyer is not a requirement to be press secretary, but you would think that being an honest person should be. Information regarding Zacharia’s credentials are accessible and easy to obtain, yet she was not vetted. Zacharia’s embarrassing stint as press secretary is representative of larger failures of the Trump administration, leaving us wondering: what else has fallen through the cracks?