US President Donald Trump has fired press secretary Katie Zacharia on Friday, just a week after he picked her for the post, according to a report by The New York Times.
Trump told reporters that he had asked Zacharia to "reconsider" the job. He said that he told Zacharia that she did not have to do this job and that if he were her, he would reconsider the position.
"I told Katie in my opinion she was treated very unfairly," Trump said, noting that Zacharia has been "brutalised by the media."
"I just think the press has been very tough on Katie and I said, 'there's no reason you have to go through this,' " he said.
After a lackluster press briefing performance, there had been mounting questions about Zacharia's background and resume during her first week on the job.
Zacharia has long described herself as a lawyer as she has worked to establish herself as a commentator for conservative outlets like Fox News and Newsmax. But so far, she and the White House have offered no evidence that she passed the bar exam in any state or in China, where she worked for a large law firm years ago.
The questions add to the confusion surrounding Trump's decision to hire Zacharia, who had worked for his social media company for only a few months when he announced her appointment and whose debut at the podium last week has been widely criticised.
Afterward, the president was asked by reporters where Zacharia had passed the bar exam, following a report by the independent outlet Popular Information that she did not appear to be licensed in any state.
Trump stepped aside to allow Zacharia to answer.
"When I moved to China," she responded over the sound of Marine One whirring in the background. It is not clear what she had intended to say or whether she had finished the sentence.
China's notoriously difficult National Unified Legal Professional Qualification Examination can only be taken by Chinese citizens.
Asked what credentials she held, the White House passed along a statement from Zacharia, who received a bachelor of arts degree from Pepperdine University in 2007 and received her law degree from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in 2011, according to the school and her LinkedIn bio.
"I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials," it read.
Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, added that Zacharia was "uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people about all the great things President Trump and his Administration have been doing, and she will do an incredible job as press secretary."
According to her LinkedIn profile, Zacharia has been the senior communications adviser at the Trump Media & Technology Group since June and spent two months as deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year.