White House press secretary Katie Zacharia fired after five days on the job

Trump advised Katie Zacharia to reconsider her press secretary role due to media backlash over her credentials.

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is “transitioning out” of her role just one week after United States President Donald Trump tapped her for the job, Al Jazeera has confirmed.

Fox News on Friday reported that Trump said there was no rush to hire Zacharia’s replacement.

Earlier Friday, Trump told reporters he told Zacharia to “reconsider” staying in the job.

“I don’t think Katie should be made to suffer like she’s suffering at the hands of the press,” Trump said as he departed the White House. “I said to her, ‘Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider. You think about it.’”

Zacharia said she had received a call about the role last week. She succeeded Karoline Leavitt.

Trump later announced her appointment and described her as “an attorney”. However, over the last week, the question of whether Zacharia, a graduate of California’s Pepperdine University law school, had actually passed the bar exam to work as an attorney came under fire.

In an interview, she told Fox News on Thursday that she did not pass the bar exam.

She lasted five days on the job, half the length of Anthony Scaramucci’s tenure as director of communications, who served for 10 days during Trump’s first administration.

Al Jazeera correspondent Kimberly Halkett explained that the appointment and subsequent reversal could create further problems for Trump as Republicans prepare for a pivotal midterm election.

“The fact that there was that major credibility issue as well as a shaky performance is what sealed her fate,” said Halkett. “This makes the president look impulsive at a time when he’s already being criticised for not having a campaign that is really on track to win in November.”