Washington, October 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Katie Zacharia, who was ousted as White House Press Secretary less than a week after taking up the role, has denied throwing US President Donald Trump “under the bus” and thanked him for hosting her family in the Oval Office on her son’s birthday.
“I never threw him under the bus nor would I ever, and any insinuation or assertion otherwise is an abject lie and fake news,” Zacharia wrote on X on Saturday.
She was responding to conservative commentator Wayne Root, who had written: “Once she responded by throwing Trump under bus, it was over for her.”
The criticism followed Zacharia’s appearance on “Fox & Friends” hours before her departure, during which she was asked whether she should have informed Trump that she had not passed the bar examination.
“Those questions weren’t asked,” Zacharia said, according to The Hill. “I’m being hired as White House press secretary, not White House counsel.”
Less than two hours later, she posted a photograph on social media and thanked Trump for hosting her family in the Oval Office.
“Thank you, President Trump, for hosting my family and me in the Oval Office and for the generous gifts you gave my children on my son’s birthday. It was an unforgettable honor,” she wrote.
NBC News quoted a senior administration official as saying that Zacharia would move to a new role, which would be announced later. No successor or acting press secretary has been named.
The White House has not issued a formal statement on her departure. Fox News journalist John Roberts reported on October 16 that Zacharia was transitioning out of the position and said Trump considered her a good person whom he had initially believed was right for the job.
In a farewell post that evening, Zacharia praised the President, writing: “President Trump is a kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking man. I wish more Americans appreciated him.”
Trump had announced her appointment on October 9 as the successor to Karoline Leavitt, who left the position at the end of August.
“It is my Great Honor to have just appointed, as Press Secretary, Katie Zacharia,” the White House quoted Trump as saying at the time. Leavitt also expressed support for Zacharia in a post on the same day, writing that “Katie has my full support”.
Zacharia’s brief tenure was marked by questions about her professional credentials. Newsmax journalist Alex Salvi reported on October 15 that Zacharia had said she knew she would be moving to China to be with her then-boyfriend before taking the bar examination. She was also reportedly offered a position in the international practice division of Chinese law firm Zhong Lun.
Journalist Charles Gasparino defended Zacharia against criticism over references to her as a doctor, arguing that she held a Juris Doctor degree after graduating from law school.
He said she “is as much of a doctor as ‘Dr Jill Biden’ since she graduated from law school, which gives her a juris doctorate.”
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