Donald Trump's New Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Calls Herself a Lawyer Despite Reportedly Failing the Bar Exam

Newly appointed White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia is under fire over her dubious legal credentials after reports revealed she calls herself a lawyer despite failing the bar exam.

When President Donald Trump announced her appointment on October 9, he explicitly described her as "an attorney.”

However, investigative reporting and a review of public records have found no evidence that she is licensed to practice law anywhere in the United States.

The controversy intensified following what critics labeled as a “trainwreck” of a first official White House briefing on Tuesday, October 13, leading to a formal ethics complaint and questions regarding the legality of her professional claims.

Sources familiar with the matter reported to The Wall Street Journal that Zacharia took the California bar exam after graduating from the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in 2011 but did not pass.

Journalists and researchers reviewing attorney registration records across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., found no record of her admission to practice law.

Independent journalist Judd Legum detailed his investigation on an MS NOW appearance on Wednesday, October 14, showing that Zacharia is not licensed to practice law anywhere in the United States and calling her claims a severe credibility deficit.

Legum, who broke the story on his investigative site Popular Information, noted that when he reached out to the White House with a detailed request for comment and evidence of her licensing, the administration failed to provide any proof.

Instead, they merely referred him back to Trump’s Truth Social post. Legum said that while a law degree isn't required to be White House Press Secretary, she fabricated a professional title, and the White House vetting process missed or ignored major holes in her résumé.

Despite lacking a license, the 41-year-old mother-of-four has described herself as a "lawyer" on her public Instagram profile and has referred to herself as such in past public and professional appearances.

When reporters on the White House South Lawn directly asked Trump and Zacharia which U.S. state she passed the bar exam in, she deflected, replying, “When I moved to China,” without specifying any jurisdiction.

Legal experts and reporters quickly noted that foreign nationals are strictly prohibited from taking China's bar exam or practicing Chinese law.

Her LinkedIn profile shows she worked as an associate at Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing from 2011 to 2013.

While foreign nationals can perform international transactional analysis at Chinese firms, it does not grant them a license or equivalent U.S. attorney status.

Sida Liu, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong who specializes in mainland law, told the New York Times that individuals in Zacharia's position are not practicing Chinese law and that her role at the firm "would have likely been similar to a paid internship.”

In response to the backlash, Zacharia stated to The Associated Press, “I practice international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials.”

Not everyone is so convinced. On October 14, the public accountability nonprofit Campaign for Accountability filed an official ethics complaint with the State Bar of California.

Under California law, representing oneself as an authorized, practicing attorney without an active state bar membership is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and up to one year in prison.

The credentialing fallout follows a widely criticized 14-minute debut briefing in which Zacharia relied heavily on prepared notes, took questions from only three outlets and mistakenly referred to Trump as her husband.

The POTUS, who reportedly bypassed his Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to pick Zacharia, however, publicly praised her debut, stating he "thought she was very good."

Despite the tepid praise, Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough said the White House was "blindsided" by Zacharia's fabrications, adding, "And now I can't even repeat some of the things they are saying about this decision. But inside the White House they are angry."