With Katie Zacharia out after five days as press secretary, President Trump publicly addressed the leadership questions consuming his White House.

In a brief phone interview Saturday, Trump batted down reports that he was unhappy with chief of staff Susie Wiles, saying she would remain in the job and citing his administration's success as the reason she should stay.

"She's phenomenal," he told reporters, adding she would "be here for a long time." The endorsement came after a week in which National Post reports said private backbiting against Wiles's leadership had spread through Trump's orbit, with figures jockeying for position should she leave.

Her position came under scrutiny after reports fell on two Trump operatives aligned with her, James Blair and Chris LaCivita, over work they did for the pro-Russian government of Republika Srpska — work that Trump appeared to anger over, posting that "if there's a conflict, I will terminate them, immediately!"

Trump's full-throated defense of Wiles carries weight only against his own record.

As National Post notes, the president has a history of professing support for individuals right before removing them — former acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney recalled a former colleague teasing him Friday by sending a story in which Trump had gone to bat for him, noting: "I was gone two weeks later."

Mulvaney told Bloomberg Television that Wiles remained "in very, very good standing with the president," but added that "whether or not she's there very much longer is anybody's guess" and that after the midterms "would be an appropriate time for a chief of staff to leave anyway."

Wiles is already the longest-tenured permanent chief of staff Trump has had, having brought unprecedented order to the White House — reducing leaks and feuding to almost normal levels — during a challenging year in which she underwent treatment for cancer.

The week's turmoil stems directly from a hiring decision made without Wiles closely involved. According to CNN, Trump spontaneously offered Zacharia the job in an Oval Office conversation Wiles was not present for, and aides rushed to inform her of the decision afterward.

Advisers asked whether anyone had vetted her — the answer, per multiple White House officials, was no. Her single briefing lasted 14 minutes, she took three questions, and she could not answer whether the US had cut off intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

According to Al Jazeera, the White House has given no official reason for her departure, though her ouster followed a combative Sean Hannity interview over her misrepresented legal credentials and a Wall Street Journal report that she had failed the bar exam.

Zacharia and her family were set to dine Friday with Vice President JD Vance, evidence she remains well regarded.

The infighting erupts at an already fraught moment, with just over two weeks until a midterm election that could reshape the balance of power in Washington.

National Post reports that polls show Republicans are poised to lose control of Congress, which would stymie the president's legislative agenda and open him and his administration to investigations.

Congressional Democrats have vowed to investigate if they win a chamber, and Vice President Vance said at a CBS town hall that the administration would comply with any subpoenas: "Of course I will. Look, I mean, we follow the law."

The Independent's editorial board argues the Zacharia affair matters for what it says about disorder inside the White House as Trump heads toward becoming a doubly lame-duck president, with ambitious allies increasingly looking to Vance as a successor.

Zacharia's exit was not the only departure of the week. At a CBS town hall, Vance called selling access to the White House "disgusting and despicable" and said anyone doing it "should suffer consequences," while noting Guilfoyle has denied wrongdoing and Trump has denied any conflicts of interest.

Per Al Jazeera, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Trump friend Paolo Zampolli also departed from roles as global envoys this week, adding to a second-term purge that already included Attorney General Pam Bondi, Noem's cabinet exit, and national security adviser Mike Waltz.

The White House has not announced a permanent replacement, and Trump told Fox News he is "not in a hurry" to fill the press secretary role, claiming "a lot of people want the job."

According to CNN, Trump offered no indication Friday of who might fill the post, leaving him without a top spokesperson in the critical final stretch before Election Day, while the US remains mired in a conflict with Iran. Zacharia, officials said, will transition to a new, unspecified role.

National Post reports that Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is widely considered a potential successor should Wiles ever depart, and that Trump has also inquired about candidates such as federal housing chief Bill Pulte.

Whether the president's twin moves — cutting Zacharia loose and endorsing Wiles — quell the unrest, National Post concludes, remains to be seen.