Katie Zacharia lasts five days as White House press secretary

Katie Zacharia officially began her role as the White House press secretary on Thursday, marking her brief tenure in the position. During her first week, Zacharia faced scrutiny due to her legal background and the short duration of her inaugural briefing. In an interview with conservative media, she defended her legal expertise and justified the brevity of her briefing, stating that President Donald Trump would answer questions from journalists later in the day.

Zacharia had only been given the briefing materials the evening before and completed it at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, less than two hours before she appeared before the press corps. She acknowledged not having a full briefing beforehand, having prepared for the briefing after waking up at 3 a.m. Later, speaking to Fox News commentator Sean Hannity, she admitted she "probably should have stepped aside" rather than answering questions without proper preparation.

Regarding her legal credentials, Zacharia revealed she had been preparing for the California bar exam at the time, as she had recently gotten married and was moving to China to join her husband who worked in private equity in Beijing. She explained that her distraction and preparation for the bar exam made her legal background "inconsequential."

Despite facing criticism for using the title "lawyer," she affirmed that she consulted legal experts to ensure her use of the title was accurate. Zacharia denied lobbying for the position and explained that she closely monitored the president's social media posts to understand what was top of mind for him. She would then discuss those topics on air, aiming to audition for the position rather than lobbying for it.

After receiving a phone call from Trump about the press secretary role, Zacharia flew to Washington and formally accepted the position later that day.