Katie Zacharia lasts five days, or half a Scaramucci, as White House press secretary

Katie Zacharia is out as White House press secretary after a week in the job, according to multiple news reports, following a first briefing that drew criticism and questions about whether she had overstated her legal credentials.

A senior White House official confirmed to Fortune that Zacharia is out, after less than a week since accepting the job and less than five days since appearing behind the world’s most famous podium.

The New York Times, citing three people familiar with the matter, reported Friday that Trump had fired her. CNN reported the same, citing advisers. Fox News quoted a senior White House official saying she is “transitioning out.” Trump told reporters he had urged her to “reconsider” the job.

Trump named Zacharia, a conservative commentator and adviser to the company that runs Truth Social, on Oct. 9 to replace Karoline Leavitt, who left at the end of August. Her only briefing, on Tuesday, was short, and she took three questions. She later told Fox News’s Sean Hannity she “probably should have stepped aside” instead of taking questions without time to prepare.

Zacharia’s tenure was shorter than the one that had long set the standard for a brief White House stint: Anthony Scaramucci’s 11 days as communications director in 2017, which turned his name into a unit of measure. And Scaramucci noticed. “Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain,” he wrote on X Friday. In a second post, he addressed her directly: “Dear @katiezacharia—speaking as the world’s leading expert on short White House tenures: turn off the news and go enjoy your family. In time you’ll realize that the Universe did you a major favor.” Zacharia’s five days are the shortest tenure for a White House press secretary on record, TheGrio reported.

Zacharia’s tenure was shorter than the one that had long set the standard for a brief White House stint: Anthony Scaramucci’s 11 days as communications director in 2017, which turned his name into a unit of measure.

And Scaramucci noticed. “Records are made to be........

© Fortune