White House press secretary dismissed after one week in office

A White House official revealed on October 16 local time that new White House Press Secretary Katie Zakaria has effectively been dismissed. Earlier, U.S. President Trump publicly stated that he had told Zakaria to "reconsider this job." Trump told reporters as he left the White House that day, "I told her: 'I think you'd be better off being happy, but I'm not sure you can be happy doing this line of work. This job is not easy at all. If I were you, I would reconsider... think it over carefully.'" Subsequently, Fox News cited a White House official in reporting that Zakaria is stepping down from the press secretary position. After the previous White House Press Secretary Leavitt departed at the end of August, the position had remained vacant. Trump announced on October 9 local time the appointment of conservative commentator Zakaria as White House Press Secretary, calling her "a lawyer." Zakaria had previously been a senior communications adviser for Trump Media & Technology Group's "Truth Social" platform, and had also served as a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, frequently appearing as a commentator on Fox News Channel and other conservative media. However, Zakaria's first White House briefing on October 13 was a poor performance. On October 15, she acknowledged in an interview that she had not passed the bar exam.