The White House Press Secretary Is Out After a Short, Rocky Tenure

Katie Zacharia is departing as White House press secretary, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on Friday. Her tenure was short and rocky, defined by questions about her professional background and by a lack of polish in fielding questions from journalists. That combination is unusually punishing in this particular job: a press secretary's credibility with the briefing room is the whole asset, and once the questions turn to whether the person belongs at the podium, the daily exchanges stop being about the news.