Politics
Donald Trump’s aide Natalie Harp was reportedly responsible for the hiring of Katie Zacharia as press secretary.
Oct. 19 2026, Published 2:49 p.m. ET
Article continues below advertisement
White House aide Natalie Harp played a key role in the brief, controversial hiring of Katie Zacharia as White House press secretary, according to a new report.
Sources familiar with the matter noted that Zacharia’s appointment was “furthered along with the strong input” and backing of Harp, the fiercely loyal presidential assistant who rarely leaves President Donald Trump’s side.
White House officials were searching for a replacement for former press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who stepped down in August.
Article continues below advertisement
‘Trump Offered Her the Job on the Spot’
Katie Zacharia reportedly caught the attention of Natalie Harp during one of her many Fox News appearances.
After several high-profile candidates were disqualified due to past criticisms of Trump, Harp championed Zacharia, a little-known, unpaid Fox News commentator whose record was deemed “unblemished.”
On Wednesday, October 7, Trump and Zacharia arranged a phone call.
She flew from California to Washington, D.C., on October 8, met with the president, and was offered the job “on the spot” on Friday, October 9 — reportedly without sufficient consultation with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Article continues below advertisement
Natalie Harp described Katie Zacharia’s record as ‘unblemished.’
“Zacharia’s hiring was solely a Trump decision, one furthered along with the strong input of his personal assistant Natalie Harp,” Axios claimed, adding that “Zacharia flew out Thursday to Washington, slipped quietly into the White House without seeing any friends in the media or administration and had a good meeting with Trump. On Friday, Trump offered her the job on the spot.”
Axios also said Trump told his Chief of Staff about his decision, and she allegedly had no issues with it.
“Before hiring Zacharia, Trump wanted to hire fired Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, two administration sources said, but she signaled she was not going to take the job,” the report noted.
MORE ON:
Natalie Harp
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
Article continues below advertisement
Katie Zacharia Was Fired After Just 5 Days on the Job
Katie Zacharia learned of her firing after being interrupted while giving an interview to the ‘Wall Street Journal.’
Zacharia officially started on Monday, October 12, and held her first press briefing on Tuesday morning.
West Wing staff reportedly considered the briefing a disaster, as Zacharia read rigidly from a script, took only three questions, made a gaffe about her children, and faced immediate scrutiny over social media posts falsely claiming she was a qualified lawyer.
By Friday, October 16 — exactly five days into her tenure — Trump announced Zacharia was out. In an unusual turn of events, The Wall Street Journal revealed that Zacharia learned she was being axed while she was actively in the middle of an interview with the newspaper in her new office.
A photo of Donald Trump flanked by Natalie Harp and Katie Zacharia immediately went viral.
Zacharia’s five-day stint officially broke Anthony Scaramucci’s 11-day record for the shortest tenure of a Trump appointee. Journalists and administration insiders noted that the situation exposed major internal power struggles. Photos from the week showed Trump flanked closely by Harp and Zacharia, while Wiles — who manages the White House in practice — appeared pushed to the margins.
Axios claimed Trump was “blindsided” by the news that Zacharia wasn’t a bar-passed attorney, as she claimed.
After the firing, Trump defended Zacharia to reporters on the South Lawn, calling her a “very nice person” who had been “treated very rough.” He added that he told her, “Katie, do you need this? I don’t think you need this,” framing the rapid ouster as a mutual reconsideration as opposed to a direct firing. Zacharia later echoed this narrative in a social media resignation post, praising Trump’s positive qualities when she prepared to transition to a different role.
