Trump's new press secretary Katie Zacharia failed the California bar exam despite repeatedly calling herself a lawyer
Laughter erupts in the briefing room as Katie Zacharia cuts short her debut White House press conference after accepting just three pre-selected questions in 14 minutes.
Katie Zacharia, Trump's newly appointed White House press secretary, reportedly failed the California bar exam in 2011 after graduating from Pepperdine University's law school. She has described herself as a lawyer during at least 18 Fox News appearances since March 2025, and no record of her admission to practice has been found in any of the 50 states or Washington DC. Zacharia told reporters this week she passed the bar 'when I moved to China', a response that deepened the confusion, before later insisting she 'practised international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials'.
Trump himself introduced Zacharia as an attorney, and when a reporter asked which state she passed the bar in, he turned to her and asked the same question.
Zacharia did pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, but that test does not grant a licence to practise law in any US jurisdiction.
The White House is standing firm — communications director Steven Cheung called her 'uniquely qualified and whip smart', while Trump said he 'thought she was very good' after her debut briefing.
