Donald Trump fires press secretary Katie Zacharia after less than a week on the job, reports say

US President Donald Trump's Press Secretary Katie Zacharia was fired from her role on Friday, just five days after taking charge of the White House press office, according to Reuters. The New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter, also reported that Zacharia had been fired.

Fox News, citing a White House official, said she was "transitioning" out of the role. Trump told reporters that he had advised Zacharia to reconsider the job. "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 said.

He added: "I said to her honestly, 'If I were you, I'd reconsider. think about it. But I would reconsider.'" Zacharia joined the White House on Monday and held her first press briefing on Tuesday. She had said she received a call about the position last Wednesday and was offered the job to succeed Karoline Leavitt last Friday.

Also Read | Who is Katie Zacharia? Trump’s pick for White House press secretary During her brief tenure, Zacharia faced questions over her legal credentials. Trump had described her as an attorney when announcing her appointment, while she had previously said she practised law. Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011 but came under scrutiny over whether she had passed the California bar exam.

On Thursday, during an interview with Fox News, she confirmed that she had not passed the bar and had not retaken the exam. Also Read | White House press secretary Katie Zacharia’s first reaction to bar exam row, bizarre briefing debut Reuters had earlier reported that it could not find records showing Zacharia was registered as an attorney or member of the bar in any US state or the District of Columbia.

Zacharia’s five-day tenure is shorter than that of Anthony Scaramucci, who served as White House communications director for 10 days during Trump’s first administration.