Trump Removes White House Press Secretary After Just Five Days

US President Donald Trump has removed Katie Zacharia from her position as White House press secretary after just five days, marking what has been described as the shortest tenure in the history of the role.

Zacharia, a conservative media commentator, was appointed earlier this month to succeed Karoline Leavitt. However, her brief tenure came under scrutiny following her first and only formal press briefing on Tuesday, which lasted less than 15 minutes.

During the briefing, Zacharia largely read from prepared notes and answered only a handful of questions, drawing widespread criticism of her performance. Questions were also raised about her professional credentials, including her description of herself as a lawyer despite not having passed a bar examination.

On Friday, Trump told reporters that he had spoken with Zacharia and suggested that she reconsider her position, citing what he described as unfair treatment by the media.

White House officials later confirmed that Zacharia was leaving the press secretary role. Reports indicated that she could be offered another position within the Trump administration.

Her departure after only five days has drawn attention because of the unusually short duration of her appointment, bringing her brief stint as the administration's chief spokesperson to an abrupt end.