White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles helped arrange Katie Zacharia’s rocky interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity the night before she was fired as White House press secretary, according to a report.
During the Thursday night interview, Hannity grilled Zacharia over her Tuesday press briefing — which he called “widely panned” — and repeatedly questioned her legal bona fides.
An unnamed source familiar with the matter told Politico the prime-time appearance on the president’s preferred channel amounted to a “sanctioned hit” on the embattled press secretary.
The White House, however, dismissed suggestions that Wiles — who reportedly was not present when Zacharia was hired — had a hand in engineering her exit. “All of this breathless speculation is just that— speculation. And it’s fiction that’s not even creative,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told the outlet.
Zacharia, 41, was ousted Friday after just five days on the job. Her extremely brief tenure was defined by a single, 14-minute press briefing that drew criticism from Trump’s allies and critics alike.
“Susie fed her to Hannity,” another unnamed source told Politico, adding that the chief of staff and the Fox News host speak regularly.
Others disputed that account, arguing that Zacharia had sealed her own fate with her debut press briefing, during which she took just three questions and mistakenly referred to her husband as “my president.”
“Susie and Sean do talk, but Susie did not need to feed her to Sean or anybody else. It’s not her style,” a senior White House official told the outlet. “And Hannity wasn’t the nail in her coffin.”
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
A Fox News insider likewise attributed Zacharia’s downfall to her own actions.
“It was clear by the end of this week that she did herself in with her own performance. If you can’t answer simple questions about your credentials, that speaks volumes,” the insider said. A network spokesperson added that Hannity chooses his own guests.
Hannity opened Thursday night’s interview by emphasizing the scrutiny Zacharia faced.
“Alright, Katie, I know this is a widely viewed interview for you,” he told Zacharia as she smiled. “And you had your first moment as press secretary. It’s been widely panned, I’m sure you’re aware. It only lasted 14 minutes. You only took three questions.”
The Fox News host then pressed her on her legal credentials, which had come under scrutiny after she promoted descriptions of herself as an attorney. “You went to Pepperdine Law School, but you did not pass the bar exam, correct?” he asked. “Correct,” Zacharia responded.
Zacharia, a former Newsmax contributor and DHS spokesperson, then defended her debut press briefing, saying it took place on her second day in the job and that she had not been given enough time to prepare.
“We wish you the best of luck,” Hannity said at the close of the seven-minute interview.
The following day, Trump told reporters he had spoken with Zacharia about stepping down. “I said, ‘Is this for you Katie? Because honestly, you don’t need this,’” the president said during a press gaggle on the White House lawn. “Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider.”
U.S. officials later confirmed that Zacharia had been fired.
The former press secretary later issued a statement praising Trump, who reportedly hired her after becoming “somewhat infatuated” with her cable news appearances.
“Trump is a kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking man,” she wrote on X. “It was an honor to work for him.”
Wiles, whom Trump has dubbed the “ice maiden,” has herself faced rumors of a potential ouster, with some White House aides already reportedly jockeying to succeed her. The president said Friday there is “zero chance” he will replace her.
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