OC MAGA Firebrand Fired As Trump's Press Secretary After Just 5 Days

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — President Donald Trump's new White House Press Secretary, Katie Zacharia, was fired Friday after five days on the job, the New York Times reported.

The news comes after the Huntington Beach-based commentator Pepperdine University graduate drew fire for claiming to be an attorney despite there being no public record of her ever passing a bar exam in any state.

Trump cushioned the decision as a kindness, refraining from his infamous catchphrase from "The Apprentice."

“I told her, ‘I think you’re better off being happy,’” Trump told reporters Friday.

RELATED: OC MAGA Firebrand Draws Scrutiny As New White House Press Secretary

He also noted that Zacharia had been treated “very unfairly” by the press and said that he’d told her she had a great life and family without having to be press secretary.

Trump said Friday morning that he’d make a final determination later, and then news leaked that she was ousted.

In comments to reporters on the lawn as he left the White House for Georgia, Trump was asked who might replace Zacharia should she leave and said that many people would want the job.

“I told Katie, in my opinion, she was treated very unfairly,” Trump said, noting that Zacharia has been “brutalized by the media.”

Zacharia held her position for less than half as long as former Trump spokesman Anthony Svaramucci, famous of his unexpected hiring and firing just 11 days later during Trump's first term. Svaramucci joked about it on X Friday following Zacharia's ousting. "Records are made to be broken," he quipped. "But I take no pleasure in other people's pain."

Zacharia took to the podium for the first time on Tuesday and instantly made headlines across the country.

Zacharia, a conservative commentator and former State Department employee from Orange County, formally replaced former press secretary Karoline Leavitt this week after she stepped down in August. Zacharia made her first White House appearance during a Tuesday, Oct. 13 press briefing, where she announced that Trump asked Kimberly Guilfoyle — the U.S. ambassador to Greece — to resign from her post amid allegations of improper conduct.

Zacharia, who hails from Huntington Beach, also found herself in the hot seat with White House reporters over her longstanding claim that she is a lawyer.

The self-described lawyer doesn't appear to have a California license nor any record of passing a state bar in the United States, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

She also raised eyebrows when she was asked where she passed the bar exam while standing alongside Trump on the White House South Lawn, The Hill reported.

"Where did she pass the bar exam? Which state?" a reporter asked Trump, who turned to Zacharia and asked, "which state?"

"When I moved to China," Zacharia told reporters.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Zacharia attended Pepperdine University in Malibu, received a degree and soon graduated from its law school in 2011.

She has worked for nonprofit Fix California, a conservative political and voter-registration nonprofit led by Ric Grenell, Trump's former national intelligence director. The organization has Zacharia listed as its "general counsel," a term that typically refers to licensed attorneys, The Chronicle reported.

In addition, Zacharia described herself as a lawyer to conservative radio commentator Greg Kelly on Oct. 5, the outlet reported.

On CNN, Zacharia appeared in February in an interview and said, "As a lawyer, there's a big difference between answering something under oath and answering something to the media."

However, the State Bar told The San Francisco Chronicle Tuesday that it "has no record of Kate Sharon Zacharia or Kate Sharon Black having been licensed to practice law in California."

Under the California Business and Professions Code, anyone who holds themselves out as a practicing attorney in California without a license "is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in a county jail or a fine of up to one thousand dollars."

When asked to confirm where Zacharia passed the bar exam, a White House official told The Hill that she moved to China with her husband after graduating, relocating for his job at a U.S. private equity firm while she worked on international transaction law.

Zacharia was called upon to replace Karoline Leavitt, the youngest press secretary in history, widely known for her assertive delivery.

Leavitt stepped down in August after more than 19 months in the role, and announced her resignation shortly after returning from maternity leave, Forbes reported.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.