White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Faces Scrutiny Over Legal Background
Questions arise about Zacharia's description of herself as a lawyer despite not passing the California bar exam.
New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is facing scrutiny after reports emerged detailing questions about her legal background and her description of herself as a lawyer. Zacharia, 42, reportedly failed the California bar exam after graduating from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing a person familiar with her experience.
In a phone interview with The New York Times, Zacharia stated that after graduating from Pepperdine Law, she was advised by the university's president on how to describe her professional status. She said she was permitted to refer to herself as a "lawyer" but was instructed to avoid terms like "attorney" or "esquire."
The scrutiny intensified after Popular Information reported that Zacharia’s name did not appear on any state bar admission lists. Following her debut press briefing, Zacharia reportedly told a journalist that she passed the bar "when I moved to China." She later clarified to The Times that she had misunderstood the question and intended to convey that she moved to China after law school, where she worked for two years at the Beijing-based Zhong Lun Law Firm. Her LinkedIn profile lists her as an associate in the international practice team at that firm.
Later, in 2024 and 2025, Zacharia served as general counsel for Fix California, a conservative organization founded by former acting intelligence director Ric Grenell. The White House has not issued a further statement on the matter.