White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Reportedly Failed Bar Exam

President Donald Trump’s new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, failed the California bar exam and has never passed a U.S. bar examination, despite repeatedly referring to herself as a lawyer and being introduced by the president as an attorney.

The disclosure has prompted renewed scrutiny of the legal background of Trump’s latest high-profile appointee. Zacharia’s career has included work at a prominent Chinese law firm and a stint as general counsel for a political nonprofit.

Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011 and took the California bar exam soon afterward, but did not pass it, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Wall Street Journal.

At the time, the source said, she was making preparations for her wedding and an international move to China with her future husband.

Although she never passed a U.S. bar exam, Zacharia later developed a career focused on international legal transactions and frequently described herself as a lawyer during television appearances.

Her professional credentials have come under heightened examination after searches of attorney licensing databases in California, Texas and Washington, D.C., found no record of her being admitted to practice under either her married name or her maiden name.

The questions gained momentum after progressive journalist Judd Legum examined Zacharia’s qualifications in his Popular Information newsletter.

The issue remained unresolved when a reporter asked Zacharia directly on Tuesday which state had admitted her to the bar. Her answer offered little clarification.

‘When I moved to China,’ she said, without offering further details.

On Wednesday evening, Zacharia spoke with The New York Times in an effort to explain what she had meant.

‘I assumed the question was, “Where were you after law school?”‘ she said.

‘That’s all I could hear over the sound of Marine One, and wanting to respect protocol, the distance behind the president, kept me from moving closer to hear the question,’ she added.

Zacharia separately defended her professional history in a statement issued this week.

‘I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials,’ she said.

The White House has backed its new press secretary, rejecting concerns about whether her background makes her suited to the highly visible communications position.

‘Katie is a fabulous and wonderful addition to the team,’ White House spokesman Steven Cheung said.

‘She is uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people about all the great things President Trump and his Administration have been doing, and she will do an incredible job as Press Secretary.’

A White House official stressed that Trump had not appointed Zacharia to perform legal work.

The distinction is significant because the press secretary’s responsibilities involve communicating administration policy and answering questions from journalists rather than providing legal advice.

Nevertheless, questions remain about Zacharia’s previous use of the title ‘lawyer’ and the nature of her professional qualifications.

After graduating from Pepperdine, Zacharia relocated to Beijing in the summer of 2011 and joined Zhong Lun Law Firm, one of China’s prominent legal practices.

There, she worked on international business transactions involving American and multinational corporations operating in China.

A person familiar with her employment told the Journal that Zacharia was among four international associates responsible for preparing agreements worth millions of dollars and communicating with corporate clients.

Crucially, the source explained that employees in the firm’s international division were classified as international legal consultants and were not required to hold Chinese attorney licenses.

American bar admission was also unnecessary for those particular duties because formal legal opinions were handled by licensed Chinese partners.

Zacharia was reportedly advised by other lawyers that her law degree and experience in international transactions qualified her to conduct legal analysis.

She also previously claimed to have worked as outside counsel to the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank while living in China.

That assertion came during a February 2025 appearance on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show.

But the distinction between possessing a law degree and being licensed to practice law has become central to the growing controversy.

In the United States, attorneys generally must obtain admission to the bar in the jurisdiction where they practice, typically after passing an examination and satisfying character requirements.

According to figures cited by the Journal, approximately 55 percent of candidates passed in July 2025, while just 31 percent succeeded in February 2026.

Zacharia did, however, pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, which tests candidates’ knowledge of legal ethics and professional obligations.

Her former professors have offered a more sympathetic assessment of the controversy.

Robert Pushaw, who taught Zacharia at Pepperdine and subsequently attended her wedding, remembered her as ‘a good law student and a genuinely good person.’

He nevertheless acknowledged that he could not determine whether she technically qualified as an attorney.

Another former professor, Roger Alford, now at the University of Notre Dame, described Zacharia as ‘a star at Pepperdine.’

Alford, who employed her as a research assistant during law school, urged critics to ‘get to know her before they prejudge her.’

But he also acknowledged the unusual nature of someone identifying as a lawyer without having passed a bar examination.

‘Generally speaking it would be unusual to say that you’re a lawyer if you’ve not passed the bar somewhere,’ he told the Journal.

Further questions surround Zacharia’s subsequent position at Fix California, a nonprofit founded by Trump administration official Richard Grenell.

According to her LinkedIn profile, she served as the organization’s general counsel between January 2024 and March 2025.

However, a person familiar with her work said her responsibilities involved overseeing communications with outside attorneys and serving as their primary organizational contact.

Zacharia’s public descriptions of her legal career have also attracted attention.

Before joining the White House, she appeared regularly on Fox News, CNN and Newsmax, where she frequently identified herself as a lawyer.

During an August 31 appearance on Fox News discussing the prosecution of Charlie Kirk’s accused killer, she explicitly invoked her legal background.

‘As a lawyer, the procedural steps are absolutely critical to ensure that they get this right,’ Zacharia told the network.

An on-screen graphic also described her as an attorney and legal and political strategist.