Fired After Five Days, Zacharia Seeks Second Chance as White House Press Secretary
The reported effort to reclaim a senior communications role illustrates how staff turnover in the Trump White House has accelerated following the administration's midterm losses.
Katie Zacharia, who served as White House press secretary for approximately five days in October 2026 before being removed from the position, is reportedly seeking a return to the role, according to three sources cited by the New York Post.
The sources, described as close to President Donald Trump, told the Post that Zacharia has been working to build support with Trump and newly elevated White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. The specific nature of those conversations is not described in the sourcing, and no written record such as a personnel memo or executive order has been made public that would confirm any formal reconsideration of her appointment.
Miller was elevated to chief of staff following the November 2026 midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress. The circumstances of that promotion are detailed in prior Congressional Times coverage: Stephen Miller Elevated to White House Chief of Staff After Midterm Results.
Zacharia's initial appointment and rapid departure were not accompanied by a formal statement from the White House explaining the separation. The White House press office had not issued a public statement on record as of publication confirming or denying any discussions about reinstating her.
The position of White House press secretary does not require Senate confirmation under current law, meaning a reappointment could occur without a congressional vote. Appointments to that role are recorded in presidential personnel announcements, which are public documents. No such announcement had been published in the Federal Register or on the White House website as of publication.
The Trump administration has experienced documented turnover in senior communications roles across both of Trump's terms. During Trump's first term, four individuals served as press secretary between January 2017 and January 2021: Sean Spicer, Sarah Sanders, Stephanie Grisham, and Kayleigh McEnany, according to White House personnel records. The current term began in January 2025.
The Post's sourcing relies entirely on unnamed individuals. The publication describes them as advisers and one source familiar with internal staff dynamics. No named official has gone on record to confirm the account. The White House communications office is the entity that would hold records of any internal personnel discussions, and those records are not subject to automatic public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act when they involve purely internal deliberations.
The political context in which this reported maneuvering is occurring includes the administration's midterm losses and Trump's public acknowledgment that some policies were applied too broadly. Democrats winning both chambers places the administration in a lame-duck posture for the remainder of the 119th Congress, which affects the legislative leverage the White House communications operation would need to manage.
It is not known from public records who currently holds the press secretary designation on a formal basis, what criteria were applied in Zacharia's initial termination, or what specific commitments, if any, have been made regarding a second appointment. Personnel announcements from the White House Office of Presidential Personnel would be the document class most likely to resolve those questions.
The Post report does not include comment from Zacharia directly, nor from Miller or any named White House official. Requests for comment directed to the White House press office, if made, were not reflected in the published account.