Katie Zacharia Out as White House Press Secretary
Trump told Fox News that he’s in no rush to replace Zacharia, who spent less than a week as press secretary.
Katie Zacharia has begun “transitioning out” of her role as White House press secretary, a senior White House official told Fox News.
Earlier, President Donald Trump said he told Zacharia she didn’t have to be the press secretary if she didn’t want to and that, “honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider.”
Trump tells the press he told Katie Zacharia "you don't have to do this if you don't want to […] honestly, if I were you, I'd reconsider."
"I said, 'Katie, is this for you?' Cause she's been treated very rough […] I'm gonna let her make that decision." pic.twitter.com/JMM8RvH9U7
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 16, 2026
Trump then told Peter Doocy at Fox News that he is not in a rush to name a new press secretary:
JUST IN: President Trump tells Fox News’ Peter Doocy he is in “NO RUSH” to name a new White House Press Secretary after Katie Zacharia is OUT. “There is still a plan we’ve confirmed for Katie and her family to dine at the vice president’s residence tonight with JD Vance and Usha Vance.”
“President Trump says that he is in no rush to name a replacement for the press secretary. The gist of it is they haven’t had a press secretary for a couple of weeks after Karoline Leavitt left, and the president thinks that things have been going ok.”
“As for potential replacements, there’s no short list at the moment. But he says that a lot of people have been calling him because he says that people know if you get that job, it makes you a star.”
JUST IN: President Trump tells Fox News’ Peter Doocy he is in “NO RUSH” to name a new White House Press Secretary after Katie Zacharia is OUT. “There is still a plan we’ve confirmed for Katie and her family to dine at the vice president's residence tonight with JD Vance and Usha… pic.twitter.com/wbSpuffeOl
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) October 16, 2026
Earlier this year, Zacharia worked “as deputy assistant secretary for public affairs and a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security for just six weeks.”
On October 9, the White House announced Zacharia would become the new press secretary.
Zacharia had her first press conference on October 13. She only took three questions and the briefing only lasted 14 minutes.
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Comments
That might be a record
WH Press Corp revenge. Trump banned some of them and they took it out on his new Press Secretary. Frankly, Trump should respond by canceling all further press conferences order his cabinet and administration to not talk to them.
Back to LinkedIn, Donnie.
Ah nothing quite matches the rapier like quality of progressive wit. And it contributes so much to any issue.
This pick as pres Sec didn’t make much sense to me. Hopefully Trump and his team can be a little more diligent on vetting and auditioning the next selection before any final selection is made public.
Feminists will be clutching their pearls and decrying the misogyny and patriarchy any day now.
No they won’t, she’s not a communist
Your sarcasm meter must be off.
There’s plenty of ‘conservative’ women who reflexively fall into feminist rhetorical/narratives. Whenever a female leads with some variation of ‘but men ..’ or ‘just because she likes to …’ to respond to a criticism of female behavior or can’t keep from telling men in general what they must/must not do or that a ‘real man should/shouldn’t do’ …that’s a woman who has absorbed the feminist mantras in whole or in part.
They would probably better off not having them any more. The news maggots twists and perverts every thing said there. No news is good news.
She was never up to the job.
That’s absurd. She was targeted by the media for this absurd irrelevant miscommunication. She wasn’t White House counsel. And since when has the background of any press secretary ever been of such concern to the media?
I dont disagree with anything you said, but the bar was set high by the previous occupant. It will be a tough set of shoes to fill.
Well, she called herself a lawyer, even maintaining that she had been advised that she could do so. In old social media posts, she called herself an attorney. She has a law degree, but never passed the bar — by legal standards, that’s not even enough to qualify as a “lawyer” (except for “patent lawyers,” maybe, which aren’t real lawyers anyway). So that’s on her — notwithstanding whether she had a bumpy start or not…
I have not followed this particular issue, but it’s funny how the media won’t give her a pass for that, but give El-Sayed in Michigan a pass for claiming he is a doctor.
Without double-standards, the trashstream media would have no standards, at all.
He’s a Democrat, they can say they are anything, be nothing, and they are treated like royalty.
There was no reason for her to exaggerate her credentials, but frankly, I’d have more respect for for her if she had stayed and fought
Never give into these jackals
He is a doctor. He has the MD; that’s all you need to be a doctor. But he’s not a practicing physician.
Uh, no. Anyone with a doctorate can technically call themselves a doctor. Not what the title “Dr” represents in this country. It is understood to mean someone who actually practices medicine, a physician. That’s how this grifter tried to represent himself. He cannot and has never practiced medicine. He’s deliberately misleading people.
That is just not true. As usual, Concise is just making sh*t up.
El-Sayid has not tried to represent himself as practicing medicine. He has correctly said that he is a medical doctor. That is all. Any inference you mistakenly made from that is your own problem.
Let me be clearer, someone who practices medicine os someone who is licensed to practice medicine. That’s how state boards define “physician.” EL Sayed is NOT a physician.
Dr. JIll?
No.
Yah, No. The muslim midget from Michigan is not a doctor. He is a terrorist apologist and hates him some Jews, though.
You are lying. He is clearly a doctor. He doesn’t and can’t practice medicine.
I have a PhD. Electrical Engineering, 50+ yrs ago.
With two exceptions, I have never encouraged being addressed as “Dr.” because in the US, at least, “Dr.” is associated with being a physician—licensed, etc.
I allowed/encouraged it in academic settings. Also, for a while I was dealing with Germans that insisted on their list of titles. They could address me a Doctor.
As usual, Milhouse has it pedantically correct.
Most states have adopted the ABA view, and make it a crime to hold yourself out as at attorney if you are note licensed. E.g.:
Texas Penal Code – PENAL § 38.122. Falsely Holding Oneself Out as a Lawyer
Current as of January 01, 2026 | Updated by Findlaw Staff
(a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to obtain an economic benefit for himself or herself, the person holds himself or herself out as a lawyer, unless he or she is currently licensed to practice law in this state, another state, or a foreign country and is in good standing with the State Bar of Texas and the state bar or licensing authority of any and all other states and foreign countries where licensed.
(b) An offense under Subsection (a) of this section is a felony of the third degree.
(c) Final conviction of falsely holding oneself out to be a lawyer is a serious crime for all purposes and acts, specifically including the State Bar Rules.
And Millhouse, you might want to reconsider your position in light of this Michigan law:
333.16294 Unlawful conduct; felony.
Sec. 16294.
Except as provided in section 16215, an individual who practices or holds himself or herself out as practicing a health profession regulated by this article without a license or registration or under a suspended, revoked, lapsed, void, or fraudulently obtained license or registration, or outside the provisions of a limited license or registration, or who uses as his or her own the license or registration of another person, is guilty of a felony.
First of all, not that it’s relevant here, but look at that Texas law again: “(a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to obtain an economic benefit for himself or herself, the person holds himself or herself out as a lawyer”. That clause is crucial, because without it the law would be unconstitutional. Zacharia, even if she were in Texas, would not be violating that law, since she didn’t make her claim with the intent of gaining anything.
But it’s irrelevant, since she’s not in Texas, and it’s got nothing to do with calling oneself a doctor.
As for the Michigan law, it specifies “an individual who practices or holds himself or herself out as practicing a health profession”. El-Sayid did neither of these things. He says, correctly, that he is a doctor. He has never claimed to be practicing medicine.
Jill Biden has entered the chat… hand in hand with Whoopi Goldberg.
I have had titles of “Engineer” but never used “Professional Engineer (PE)” until i passed my licensure exam.
And to think the msm never said a word about KJP! She made a rock look smart! But she checked all of the msms boxes, black, female, lesbian, Democrat, and mentally handicapped!
Yes, but a rock could never be the excellent toilet brush KJP was.
“I have not followed this particular issue, but it’s funny how the media won’t give her a pass for that, but give El-Sayed in Michigan a pass for claiming he is a doctor.”
*****
Grok:
ABA def of lawyer:
.”…is a licensed professional who advises and represents others in legal matters.”
**
“A person is not considered a lawyer under this definition until they have met state licensing requirements (typically including a law degree from an ABA-accredited school, passing a bar exam, character and fitness review, oath, and admission by the state’s highest court).”
No Bar Exam, no State License= cannot call herself a lawyer or Attorney
Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed[, PhD Public health Oxford, M.D. Columbia Univ.
AMA definition of Physician:
“The American Medical Association (AMA) defines a physician as an individual who has received a “Doctor of Medicine” (MD) or “Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine” (DO) degree (or an equivalent degree) after completing a prescribed course of study at a school of medicine or osteopathic medicine.”
So he actually is even a physician, just not a practicing one.
He may have a degree, but no license to practice medicine.
The fact is, he has portrayed himself and referred to himself as a doctor. For the vast majority of people who are not praying they can technically squeak by with a definition from the American Medical Association, his portrayal implies that he has actually practiced medicine on actual patients.
He is a fraud!
He’s an MD regardless of if he’s ever practiced.
A license must be issued, regardless of practicing professionally.
SHV is an actual Dr
Licensed and all
A license doesn’t provide the MD designation. It’s a degree for passing the course work.
No, he isn’t. The AMA is not the authority. They’re an advocacy group. State medical boards define a physician as someone who holds an MD and is licensed. That ain’t this grifter candidate.
On the contrary, since he’s not practicing medicine the state medical board’s opinion is irrelevant. If the AMA calls him a physician he has every right in the world to call himself one.
Hang on. Unless you’re making an appeal to authority fallacy then ANY group or individual for that matter could offer a contrary opinion and it would be equally valid.
Just b/c AMA or ABA are well known ‘brands’ doesn’t make their opinion more/less valid than any others. Clearly they both lost their claims to objectivity long ago so why should they retain any credibility? Why should we grant their opinion on definitions any credence at all?
They should assign an AI to the role. Get Musk to whip one up. The AI could play back all the crap and falsehoods written by each reporter as they are called upon and make them own up to it before allowing them their next speech in the guise of a question
ABA’s opinion doesn’t mean much to me.
On the definition of the word “lawyer”?! It seems to me that’s the one thing in the world that it does have the right to pronounce on.
I have had titles of “Engineer” but never used “Professional Engineer (PE)” until i passed my licensure exam.
One could use the letters JD (Juris Doctorate) after their name, I suppose, but to use terms like “esquire”, “attorney”, or “laywer” connotating a licensed professional is an ethical violation.
Actually, no, They have no such right. At least no more than anyone commenting on this site or anywhere else in the world. Remember my comment on the AMA? ABA is also just an advocacy group, and a very progressively political one at that. They do not license anyone to do anything. They have no special authority.
They have no legal authority. They do however speak with authority on their topic of expertise, which is lawyers.
Kimberly Guilfoyle is looking for a new
gig. She could sleep with the entire press pool and charge them for inside
dope.
Doubt most of the male press corpse would sleep with a woman
Not even with yours and definitely not with mine.
She started too soon. She should have waited a week or two before holding her first press briefing. She could have gotten some tips from Karoline Leavitt or Kayleigh McEnaney who were Super Stars.
She was pushed out in front of a hostile group totally unprepared and treated like a dirty dog. The stink about her being a lawyer or not was part of the takedown. I hope she does well in her next endeavor inside the WH or far away from it. Trump implied it in statements to the press that it is a toxic, hostile environment; he should know. Hell, he can’t even choose his own press secretary without staff and insiders screeching.
She looks dumb. Unfortunately I work in an environment with far too many dumbs. Shes got the same look. Just my observation.