New reporting today revealed that Donald Trump is firing White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia after just five days, marking a new record for the shortest tenure of a Trump administration official and shortest-ever tenure for White House press secretary. Zacharia’s failure to serve more than a few days is yet another example of the administration’s inability to spin Trump’s disastrous agenda that has left working families struggling to make ends meet.
In less than one week on the job, Zacharia had been embroiled in negative headlines after reporting revealed that she never passed the bar exam, despite Zacharia and Trump referring to her as an attorney. Zacharia’s one and only press conference lasted approximately 14 minutes, as she stumbled through her remarks and took questions from only three reporters.
In response, DNC Deputy Communications Director Kendall Witmer released the following statement:
“Donald Trump’s White House is in upheaval as yet another official leaves his administration amid embarrassing scandals and sinking approval ratings. Trump’s presidency has been an unmitigated disaster, leaving even his most loyal sycophants unable to defend the mess he’s made. With just over two weeks until the midterm elections, the Trump administration’s dysfunction is clearer than ever, and voters are tired of all of the chaos while working families struggle with high costs and Trump doubles down on his disastrous agenda.”
Zacharia’s firing marks another departure of a high-ranking woman in the Trump administration. The overwhelming majority of prominent officials leaving the administration have been women, after Kimberly Guilfoyle was forced out last week after trying to pressure a donor for cash and four of Trump’s eight female cabinet officials were pushed out over the course of just three months earlier this year.
