Katie Zacharia is leaving as White House press secretary days after a rocky first briefing and questions about the bar exam

What happened

Katie Zacharia is leaving her post as White House press secretary, according to the Associated Press, as published by PBS NewsHour, and NPR. A person familiar with the matter told the AP on Friday that she would be transitioning out of the role. NPR cited a White House official saying she is "transitioning out" and noted that she officially started Monday.

The news came hours after President Donald Trump publicly questioned her future in the job. The AP reported that messages to Zacharia were not returned Friday and the White House offered no immediate comment.

Trump's comments Friday

Trump spoke to reporters on the White House lawn as he left for a rally in Georgia and said he had urged Zacharia to rethink the position. "Honestly, if I were you, I'd reconsider," he said, according to the AP. He also said he thought the press had treated her unfairly.

NPR reported that Trump said he had just spoken with her and that she had been treated "pretty nastily." He told reporters he was leaving the decision to her. According to the AP, he said "When I get back, we're gonna talk," and added that a lot of people wanted the job.

A short and rocky tenure

The first briefing

The AP reported that Trump announced Zacharia's appointment on Oct. 9 as the successor to Karoline Leavitt. Her first briefing came Tuesday and lasted about 14 minutes. She took questions from only three reporters, all from conservative-leaning or Trump-friendly outlets. NPR said her opening statement was long, halting and read from notes.

Zacharia has said she kept the briefing short so Trump would have time for his own session with reporters later that morning, the AP reported. She also said White House staff had not fully briefed her beforehand. She then traveled with Trump to rallies Wednesday and Thursday in Alaska, Arizona and Montana but held no further briefings.

Questions about her law credentials

Zacharia earned her law degree from Pepperdine University in 2011, according to ABC News. ABC reported that she has described herself as a lawyer and that Trump called her "an attorney" in a social media post announcing her role. Scrutiny grew after Popular Information reported there was no evidence she was licensed to practice law. A Wall Street Journal report also said she sat for the bar in 2011 but did not pass.

Earlier this week, a reporter asked her in which state she passed the bar, and she replied that she "moved to China," ABC reported. She later told The New York Times she could not hear the question over the sound of Marine One.

What she said Thursday and Friday

In a Fox News interview Thursday, Zacharia told host Sean Hannity she did not pass the bar exam and did not take it again, according to ABC News. Two people with direct knowledge of the matter told ABC she took the California bar exam and did not pass. In a separate interview with Real America's Voice, she called the results "somewhat inconsequential" because she knew she was moving to China, where she worked in international transaction law.

NPR reported that her LinkedIn page lists work from 2011 through 2013 at a Beijing-based law firm called Zhon Lun. In a statement provided to NPR, she said she "practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials." The AP reported that she said on Fox News on Friday that no one asked her about passing the bar before she became press secretary. Trump noted that she was hired as a spokesperson, not as an attorney.

Background on Zacharia

Before joining the White House, Zacharia worked in communications for Trump Media, the company that oversees Truth Social, the AP reported. She also worked briefly at the Department of Homeland Security during the second Trump administration. NPR described her as a 41-year-old who has been a frequent pro-Trump commentator on outlets including Fox News and Newsmax.

NPR noted that she took the role at a time when Trump's popularity has fallen to record lows and Republicans are trying to limit potential losses in the midterm elections. For more stories from outside the valley, see our national news section.

What to watch next

• Who will replace Zacharia. Trump told reporters that a lot of people want the job, according to the AP.
• A formal White House announcement. The AP's source described the departure as a personnel decision not yet made public.
• Trump's planned talk with Zacharia after his weekend campaign travel, which he said would come when he gets back.