White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia has been removed from the role, a White House official said, after President Donald Trump publicly urged her to reconsider remaining in the job amid mounting scrutiny.
“I told her: ‘I think you’re better off being happy, and I’m not sure you can ever be happy in this stuff.’ There’s nothing easy about this stuff,” Mr Trump told reporters as he left the White House.
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He added: “I said to her honestly, ‘If I were you, I’d reconsider… think about it. But I would reconsider.’”
Fox News later reported, citing a White House official, that Ms Zacharia was “transitioning” out of the press secretary position.
Questions over whether Ms Zacharia, who graduated from Pepperdine University’s law school in California, had passed the bar exam intensified over the past week.
In a Fox News interview on Thursday, Ms Zacharia acknowledged that she had not passed the bar.
Anthony Scaramucci held the position of communications director for 10 days during Mr Trump’s first administration.
Ms Zacharia’s tenure has lasted five days so far.
Earlier today, the US president indicated that Ms Zacharia might not remain in the post much longer.
He said she had been treated “very unfairly” by the press and told reporters that he had reminded her she had a good life and family without the burdens of serving as press secretary.
Donald Trump urged Katie Zacharia to “reconsider” her position
Mr Trump said he would reach a final decision at a later time.
Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn before departing for Georgia, Mr Trump was asked who could succeed Ms Zacharia if she stepped down. He replied that many people would be interested in the position.
“I told Katie, in my opinion, she was treated very unfairly,” Mr Trump said, adding that Ms Zacharia had been “brutalised by the media”.
Zacharia faced scrutiny over her bar-exam record
Ms Zacharia had earlier confirmed that she did not pass the bar exam, following questions about her legal background before she became Mr Trump’s top spokesperson.
She joined the White House on Monday and has previously said she practised law before entering politics. Mr Trump had also referred to her as an attorney.
“You did not pass the bar exam, correct?” Fox News host Sean Hannity asked during an interview on Thursday night.
“Correct,” she replied.
When Mr Hannity asked whether she had taken the exam a second time, Ms Zacharia said: “I did not.”
Ms Zacharia, 41, received her law degree from Pepperdine University in 2011, according to the institution.
Most licensed lawyers in the US begin by earning a law degree, but graduates cannot legally practise law in the country until they are admitted to a state bar.
Campaign for Accountability, a watchdog group, filed a complaint with the State Bar of California and urged it to examine whether Ms Zacharia had violated the law by repeatedly describing herself as a lawyer without a licence.
The group said Ms Zacharia had identified herself as a lawyer during television appearances and had listed herself as general counsel for a California-based conservative nonprofit.
“Ms Zacharia has represented herself as a lawyer repeatedly to buttress her reputation and credibility,” said Michelle Kuppersmith, the group’s executive director.
“The State Bar should investigate whether Ms Zacharia has misled the public about her credentials,” she added.
“I practised international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials,” Ms Zacharia said in a statement, but did not explain whether she held a US law licence.
She has not said where, if anywhere, she was admitted to the bar. When reporters asked on Tuesday where she had passed the bar exam, she replied: “When I moved to China.”
At her first briefing on Tuesday, Ms Zacharia took questions from only three reporters before ending the session in less than 15 minutes.
Some media commentators and political analysts criticised the performance. Mr Trump, however, told reporters: “I thought she was very good.”
