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White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia is leaving her role just days after taking office, following criticism of her press briefing performance and questions over her resume.
Asked about reports that Zacharia was “transitioning” out of the role, a White House official confirmed the news to AFP news agency on condition of anonymity.
Several US media outlets, including The New York Times, reported that Zacharia had been fired. However, US President Donald Trump denied dismissing her, saying she had been “brutalized by the media”, as reported by Fox News.
He told reporters he had encouraged her to reconsider the role just minutes earlier, telling her, “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
Zacharia’s first White House press briefing on Tuesday lasted less than 15 minutes. She began by listing what she described as Trump’s achievements before taking just three questions from reporters.
Appointed less than a week ago, she faced scrutiny over her legal credentials after failing to give a clear answer about where she had passed the bar exam, which is generally required to practise law in the United States.
Although Zacharia holds a law degree from a California university, she acknowledged on Thursday that she had not passed the bar exam, a requirement to practise law in the United States.
In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, a close Trump ally, Zacharia confirmed that she had never retaken the exam.
“It was never my intent to go into the practice of law,” she said.
Speaking to pro-Trump outlet Real America’s Voice on Thursday, Zacharia said she had registered for the exam but became “distracted and overwhelmed” by plans to move to China with her husband.
She also claimed that “many people in the field” had told her she could “label myself a lawyer” because she held a law degree.