New Press Secretary Katie Zacharia has reportedly said she is a lawyer who "practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials" and has described herself on Instagram as "Wife, Mom, & Lawyer."
Since Reuters reported that it could not find records showing she is licensed to practice law in any U.S. state or the District of Columbia, Zacharia faces an ethics complaint with the State Bar of California.
Now it's being reported that Zacharia will step down. She is leaving her role as White House press secretary after only seven days following a rocky first week on the job, a source familiar confirmed to Fox News Digital.
In a quick turn of events in the early afternoon Friday, Trump told reporters that Zacharia is being treated unfairly but acknowledged she may not be the best choice moving ahead. He urged her to reconsider the job.
"She was on Hannity last night. Sean was a little tough, I saw Fox and Friends. She's been treated, I'd say, pretty nastily. I said to Katie two minutes ago — you don't have to do this if you don't want it," Trump said.
Trump told Zacharia, “is this for you Katie? Honestly, you don’t need this. She said, ‘this is a lot tougher … Welcome to the world of Trump. I just want her to be happy.”
"It's amazing how much this reeks of another round of lawfare conducted against someone who is not currently holding a legal job," Gerard Filitti told American Family Radio this week.
Filitti, senior counsel at The Lawfare Project, an international nonprofit legal think tank and litigation fund based in New York City, pointed out there is a technical difference between holding a law degree and being licensed to practice law.
"We have to be careful as lawyers how we hold ourselves out to the public," he said.
In his view, the main issue for the Trump administration comes down to messaging and media optics.
"They're using this to target, of course, Donald Trump," he said. "So, I do see this more of the PR crisis for the White House than anything that will stick to Zacharia other than to embarrass her a little bit. Ultimately, that's what the goal is: to attack Trump. It's not actually about her.”
The controversy comes amid reports of internal friction within the White House over missing donation funds, tensions involving Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and other communications officials surrounding Zacharia's appointment, and questions about the vetting process.
Reporting on Zacharia's work with conservative nonprofit Fix California raised questions about her listed legal role and $27,367 in fundraising commissions disclosed in 2024. Although those reports have prompted scrutiny of her legal credentials, they have not established that donor funds were misused.
Separately, President Trump has directed White House counsel to investigate former Trump attorney Alina Habba's allegation that former Kennedy Center leader Ric Grenell failed to deposit a nearly $5.6 million donation from her husband, Turkish businessman Turhan Mildon, intended for the center. Grenell denies the accusation. The dispute has deepened tensions among Trump allies, while Kennedy Center records reportedly show no donation close to that amount. Officials have not substantiated the allegations.
Filitti said these distractions are taking attention away from core policy issues just weeks before the midterm elections.
"Instead of focusing on that, we're now distracted by who did what to whom... tattle telling in the Oval Office, which is not what we want to see in the press," he said. "We want to see a unified message about why conservatives need to put up a good fight this election."
