--- title: "Karoline Leavitt's Successor Katia Zaharia Leaving White House Press Secretary Post After Five Days: NYT Reports Reasons" description: "Katia Zaharia is leaving her position as White House Press Secretary five days after her appointment. The NYT attributes the decision to a disastrous first briefing and a scandal surrounding her legal credentials." date: 2026-10-17T04:00:39.909Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/katia-zaharia-leaving-white-house-press-secretary tags: [white-house, donald-trump, katie-zakaria, press-secretary, usa-politics] author: "Alexander Buran" publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Karoline Leavitt's Successor Katia Zaharia Leaving White House Press Secretary Post After Five Days: NYT Reports Reasons ![Donald Trump and a young blonde woman in a dark dress standing in front of US flags giving thumbs up](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/17/kati-zaharia-uvolena-press-sekretarem-belogho-doma/kati-zaharia-uvolena-press-sekretarem-belogho-doma-1.webp) ## Key Points - According to the NYT, Katia Zaharia was dismissed from the White House press secretary post after five days on the job; the decision was not officially announced. - Reasons cited include a disastrous first briefing and disputes surrounding her legal qualifications. - Trump stated he urged Zaharia to 'reconsider' her decision and might offer her another role. - Zaharia's departure comes amid Karoline Leavitt's announced departure due to the birth of a child. New White House Press Secretary Katia Zaharia is reportedly leaving her post just five days after her appointment. This is reported by The New York Times, citing three sources familiar with the situation. The publication notes that the dismissal decision was made on Friday, though it had not been officially announced at the time of publication, and representatives of the White House and Zaharia herself did not respond to journalists' requests. According to the NYT, the key reasons were a disastrous first press briefing and controversies surrounding how Zaharia presented her legal career. ### Five Days on the Job Zaharia's tenure in office turned out to be one of the shortest in the modern history of the White House press office. Her first and, reportedly, only briefing as press secretary took place on Wednesday and lasted about 14 minutes. According to The New York Times, for the first eight minutes, the new representative mostly read from a prepared script, and the briefing concluded after just the third reporter's question. According to the publication's sources, this very performance triggered a reassessment of her standing in the president's team. ### Disastrous Debut and Qualification Scandal The briefing was followed by a flurry of headlines stating that critics believed Zaharia falsely presented herself as a lawyer, despite not having passed the bar exam. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters, referred to her as a lawyer, which further fueled the discussion. Earlier, according to Ukrainian media, Zaharia also failed to give a clear answer at the briefing regarding whether the US had stopped transferring intelligence to Ukraine, increasing pressure on her from the press. ### Trump's Stance On Friday, Donald Trump told reporters that he had spoken with Zaharia and urged her to "reconsider" her decision. "Honestly, if I were you, I would reconsider my decision," he recounted of their conversation. According to him, he also asked: "Katia, do you need this? I don't think you need this." Trump added that Zaharia might continue working for him "in some form, but perhaps in a more pleasant one," and emphasized that a final decision would be made later, after his trips conclude. ### Context of Personnel Changes Zaharia's departure comes against the backdrop of other changes in the press office. It was previously reported that current White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will leave her post at the end of August due to the birth of a child, while not entirely leaving the president's team. Thus, Zaharia's appointment and rapid potential departure have become part of a series of personnel decisions within the administration's communications team. ## Accounts differ ### Status of Katia Zaharia's Dismissal - **The New York Times (citing anonymous sources, via RBC-Ukraine and TSN):** Zaharia was dismissed from the press secretary position after five days on the job; the decision was made on Friday but not officially announced. ([rbc.ua](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/nova-pressekretarka-bilogo-domu-protrimalasya-1792181084.html)) - **UNN (citing Sky News):** Trump only indicated that Zaharia 'might' leave office due to negative media coverage and will make a final decision later after his trips conclude. ([unn.ua](https://unn.ua/ru/news/proderzhalas-vsego-nedelyu-novaya-press-sekretar-trampa-veroyatno-pokinet-dolzhnost)) *Where they agree:* All sources confirm that Zaharia had a poor first briefing and that Trump advised her in a conversation to 'reconsider' her decision to work in this position. ## Fact-Check & Sources - [Новая пресс-секретарь Белого дома продержалась на должности 5 дней, - NYT](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/nova-pressekretarka-bilogo-domu-protrimalasya-1792181084.html) - Base origin: dismissal after 5 days according to NYT, anonymous sources, decision not announced; Trump's quotes. - [Продержалась всего неделю — новая пресс-секретарь Трампа, вероятно, покинет должность](https://unn.ua/ru/news/proderzhalas-vsego-nedelyu-novaya-press-sekretar-trampa-veroyatno-pokinet-dolzhnost) - Conveys Trump's words that Zaharia 'may' leave office, final decision later; phrases the term as 'a week'. - [Трамп уволил пресс-секретаря Белого дома после пяти дней работы: что пошло не так — NYT](https://tsn.ua/ru/svit/tramp-uvolil-press-sekretarya-belogo-doma-posle-pyati-dney-raboty-chto-poshlo-ne-tak-nyt-3192011.html) - Confirms NYT version of dismissal after 5 days, scandal surrounding legal qualifications, Trump's quotes. - [Новый пресс-секретарь Белого дома продержалась пять дней: Трамп посоветовал ей передумать](https://www.topnews.ru/news_id_1319979.html) - Indicates briefing date October 13 and duration of about 14 minutes, describes script reading in the first eight minutes. ## FAQ ### How long did Katia Zaharia serve as White House Press Secretary? According to The New York Times, about five days; her first briefing took place on Wednesday and lasted about 14 minutes. ### Why, according to media reports, is Zaharia leaving her post? The NYT links the decision to a botched first briefing and a scandal surrounding her statements about legal qualifications and law practice. ### What did Donald Trump say about this? Trump stated that he urged Zaharia to 'reconsider' her decision, asked if she needed the job, and noted she could continue working for him in a different, 'more pleasant' capacity; he deferred a final decision.