Donald Trump has asked the US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign following allegations of misconduct
Guilfoyle allegedly asked a Trump donor to pay her hefty credit card bill in exchange for access to his administration
Trump says "she was doing a good job, but we didn't like what we were reading"
In a statement, Guilfoyle - the former fiancée of Donald Trump Jr - denies the claims against her and vows to "vigorously defend my name"
Reports Guilfoyle would leave the post were confirmed by Trump's new White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia in her first briefing to journalists, where she took just three questions
Zacharia's first briefing was easily the shortest I've ever attended, writes our White House reporter, who heard audible gasps from reporters when she announced it was ending
Asked for his verdict, Trump calls her performance "very good"
The first question goes to a reporter from Breitbart in the "new media seat", a spot that was first instituted by Zacharia's predecessor, Karoline Leavitt.
Zacharia praises Leavitt and says she will continue to champion new media voices and will seek to expand it as much as she can.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
at the White House briefing room
Image source, ReutersKatie Zacharia's first time at the White House press briefing began as many in the room expected - with thanks for President Trump, a man for whom she has long wanted to work for.
The rest of the beginning of the briefing began, as Karoline Leavitt's did, with a long, pre-prepared list of policy points and accomplishments that the Trump administration believe have benefited the US and Americans, particularly with regards to the economy.
Notably, Zacharia's initial focus was partly on energy, a topic that has bedevilled the White House since the war in Iran began on 28 February.
While the topic has simmered since then, it has reached a fever pitch as the upcoming midterm elections loom and high petrol prices loom in the minds of many Americans.
Throughout the course of the day, journalists and analysts will be looking at some of her claims and asessing their accuracy.
Off the top of my head, several of the claims stood out as not proven by publicly available data - such as her claims of reductions in fentanyl trafficking at the Mexican border.
Zacharia is listing a number of the administration's achievements from the last few months.
She then repeats the announcement that the president made last night at a rally that the Pentagon selected Cleveland, Ohio, as the new home of the US Navy's submarine component repair centre.
She says the massive facility will "manufacture, repair, and maintain" key parts for new submarines.
Katie Zacharia is now standing at the famous lectern for her inaugural news briefing in a packed room full of eager journalists.
She begins by saying she is "so honoured to work for President Trump and the American people as the new White House press secretary."
She then thanks Trump saying she has wanted to work for him for a very long time.
Image source, ReutersKatie Zacharia, the new White House press secretary, is now standing at the front of the Press Briefing Room and has begun addressing the media.
We'll bring you all the key lines right here, or you can follow along by pressing watch live above.
Grace Eliza Goodwin
US reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesKatie Zacharia (R) is seen on Monday at the White House as President Trump spoke to the media before boarding Marine One
Katie Zacharia will be introducing herself as the White House's new press secretary in the next few minutes, and we expect her to get questions on several major topics.
Russia's war in Ukraine:
Execution of Nidal Hasan:
Search of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's home:
Bernd Debusmann Jr
at the White House briefing room
I first encountered Katie Zacharia earlier this year, when I reached out to her after seeing that she had been at Mar-a-Lago during one of the trips I'd taken there with President Trump.
I've since exchanged messages with her relatively frequently, and have, on occasion, reached out to her for her views on things happening in Trump's orbit and in the administration.
In an odd coincidence, I last spoke on the phone with her last Thursday - the day before she was announced as the new White House press secretary.
She is extremely connected within the broader Maga world and knowledgeable about world affairs - particularly China, where she worked for a period - and media savvy, having already briefly served as spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security and frequently appearing on Fox, CNN and other US networks.
That, however, is not all that this job entails. Perhaps the most important qualification that this job requires is loyalty to Donald Trump and his agenda.
In that regard, she is extremely well-placed, and even among those in Trump's orbit she is known as someone who ferociously defends even his most controversial policies, at times doing so on panels alongside intense critics of his.
Unlike some of Trump's other political allies - those whose views on the president have shifted throughout his now long political career - she has never wavered in her stances.
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesKatie Zacharia's predecessor Karoline Leavitt served as White House press secretary from the beginning of Trump's second term in January 2025 until August 2026.
Leavitt went on maternity leave in April and briefly returned to the job before stepping down in August to spend more time with her two children.
In her absence, administration officials rotated in to fill her spot at press briefings.
Leavitt was the youngest person ever to serve in the position when she started at just 27 years old, according to the White House.
She was beloved by President Trump, who said when announcing her departure that she was one of his "most trusted aides" and "one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office”. He added that he understands and respects her decision to focus on her family.
Since her departure, Leavitt has announced she will be joining Fox News as an on-air contributor starting in November.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
at the White House Press Briefing room
There's still an hour or so to go until Katie Zacharia's first appearance at the briefing room podium - but the White House is already buzzing with activity.
There are already approximately 30 or so people in the briefing room, including many without assigned seats that are standing in the aisles. This has become common during the Trump administration, with briefings often turning into crowded moshpits of reporters standing in any available space.
I've just taken a seat, but it required wading over a sea of camera tripods and equipment.
Briefings, however, haver been few and far between in recent months. The last one took place on 15 September, when Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted a rare outdoor session in the Rose Garden patio.
White House staff and journalists will be watching closely to see how Zacharia performs in what is a high-stress, high-stakes job that more often than not includes fielding difficult questions that require interpreting the president's meaning and intent.
Above all, however, the job of White House press secretary in the Trump administration is about performing for an audience of one: the president himself.
There was intense competition and backroom politicking for the job, and Trump will surely will be watching to see whether or not he made the right choice.
Image source, Getty ImagesKatie Zacharia, 42, is the US president's sixth chief spokesperson across his two administrations.
The political commentator is a frequent fixture on the conservative networks Newsmax and Fox News.
She previously had a brief stint as a spokesperson at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and worked as a communications adviser for Trump's social media platform Truth Social, according to her LinkedIn.
In the early days of her career, Zacharia worked as an intern for the Republican National Committee and for the White House Office of Political Affairs during the Bush administration in 2006.
Trump called her "loyal" and "a devoted fan and member of Maga" in a social media post on Friday, adding that she had "an unblemished record of support".
Grace Eliza Goodwin
US reporter
Conservative commentator Katie Zacharia will soon give her first news conference as the Trump administration's new White House press secretary.
Zacharia is taking over from Karoline Leavitt, who stepped down from the job in August to take care of her family.
At today's briefing we expect reporters to press Zacharia about several recent actions taken by the Trump administration, including:
We'll bring you all the key updates and analysis right here, and you can also follow along by pressing watch live above from 09:30 EDT (14:30 BST).