White House officials question how long Katie Zacharia can last after 'brutal' press briefing

Several White House officials are questioning how long Katie Zacharia will keep the press secretary job after her first briefing Tuesday, saying her performance was unlikely to satisfy President Donald Trump.

Several advisers and officials offered negative reviews of the briefing to CNN, with one characterizing it as "brutal." Others described it as unusual, awkward, stilted and, at times, uncomfortable. Zacharia appeared at the podium for only about 15 minutes, and most of that time was dedicated to an opening statement touting Trump's accomplishments. She called on only three reporters for questions before ending the briefing.

Some White House officials and Trump advisers expressed confusion about why the White House rushed Zacharia to the podium. A source familiar with the matter said Trump had asked Zacharia to conduct the briefing, and while some in his orbit had misgivings, the source was unaware of anyone relaying them to Zacharia or Trump.

"She should have been doing murder boards for two weeks before going up there," one Trump adviser told CNN, before critiquing Zacharia's performance. "The best thing she did was break the news about [Ambassador to Greece Kimberly] Guilfoyle — at least that takes the focus off of her performance."

"Why did they put her out there so quickly?" a White House official said incredulously. "Literally zero reason to put her out on her second day, unprepared."

Trump praised Zacharia after the briefing, telling reporters shortly after: "I thought she was very good." White House communications director Steven Cheung also said in a statement to CNN that "Katie is a fabulous and wonderful addition to the team."

Zacharia planned ahead of time that she would give lengthy introductory remarks, based on what Trump had requested, and take only take three questions – from outlets she chose ahead of time, a source familiar with the matter said.

The briefing was notably shorter than what had become the norm. Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt's briefings lasted for about an average of 45 minutes. During her first briefing, she called on two "new media" reporters before an Associated Press correspondent. She would also take questions from reporters standing in the aisles.

Zacharia called on reporters from conservative outlet Breitbart, which was in the "new media" seat, Fox News and the Daily Mail. She appeared to have their names written down ahead of time.

Trump and Zacharia met briefly ahead of the briefing, and Trump told her he was seeking Guilfoyle's resignation, a source said.

Another adviser told CNN that while Zacharia "wasn't great," it was just her first press briefing. They expected Trump would give her the benefit of the doubt.

Trump had grown somewhat infatuated with Zacharia's appearances on Fox News before eventually hiring her, sources told CNN. But one of the advisers noted that appearing on a cable TV panel and standing in front of the world at the podium were two different things.

"No question we're all missing Karoline," said one adviser.

Zacharia said she was cutting the briefing short because Trump would likely soon take reporter questions on the White House South Lawn before he departed for Alaska.

"I am going to end it because President Trump is heading out to Marine One for our historic trip to Alaska, and we can ask him all of the questions out there," she said.

Questions have also surfaced online about Zacharia's status as an attorney , and CNN has found no evidence that she has passed the bar exam in the states where she has lived and worked since graduating Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. When Trump announced her new role, he referred to his new press secretary as "an attorney."

"The State Bar of California has no record of Kate Sharon Zacharia or Kate Sharon Black having been licensed to practice law in California," a spokesperson for the California State Bar told CNN in a statement, referring to her maiden name. "Due to confidentiality requirements, the State Bar can only confirm whether someone passed the bar exam, not whether they took the bar exam."

When a reporter pressed Trump at the White House on Tuesday morning about what state Zacharia passed the bar exam in, the president turned to his new press secretary, who was standing behind him.

"Which state?" Trump asked Zacharia. She responded that she had moved to China.

In response to questions on her legal credentials, a White House official told CNN that Zacharia moved to China with her husband after graduating law school, citing his job at an American private equity firm, and that she worked on international transaction law at the time. The official did not respond to a follow-up question about whether she passed the bar exam.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Zacharia worked as an associate on the international practice team at Zhong Lun Law in Beijing from August 2011 to June 2013. She was also general counsel to Fix California , an elections-focused nonprofit founded by Trump ally Ric Grenell, from January 2024 to March 2025. Her most recent position was senior communications adviser for the Trump Media and Technology Group.

It is unclear on what cadence Zacharia will brief reporters. A CNN Reliable Sources analysis of the White House video archive found Leavitt, who departed the role in August, held formal briefings about once a week on average before having her second child. She held 14 briefings in the four months leading up to her maternity leave in late April.

She held another 49 briefings through the rest of 2025, which included several nontraditional briefings.

This story and headline have been updated with additional reporting.

CNN's Alejandra Jaramillo contributed to this report.

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