Katie Zacharia Says Trump Never Asked About Her Legal Training

After her first week as White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia has faced persistent questions over her past claims of being an attorney and whether she disclosed her legal background to President Donald Trump. Zacharia, a familiar presence on Fox News and other conservative media outlets, was often introduced as an “attorney” while offering political commentary, despite never passing a U.S. bar exam. When asked earlier this week whether she had passed the bar, Zacharia said she had taken one in China, where she worked after graduating from Pepperdine University School of Law. The answer puzzled reporters because American bar exams are not administered in China, and U.S. citizens generally cannot sit for Chinese legal examinations. Zacharia later clarified that she had never passed a bar exam, explaining that it was not required for her work in China, where a U.S. qualification would not have been relevant. During a Friday morning interview with Fox News about her “tough week,” hosts again pressed her on why she had previously described herself as an attorney.

“It’s not an easy job to be the press secretary, and you never want to be the story,” Fox & Friends host Lawrence Jones said. “But I have to ask, do you wish you would have disclosed to the president about the bar and not passing the bar?” “Well, Lawrence, those questions weren’t asked,” Zacharia replied. “I’m being hired as White House press secretary and not White House counsel. The conversations and the reason I was hired was to represent the president in the press.” The controversy is not simply that Zacharia failed to pass the bar. It centers on her repeated use of the title “attorney” despite not passing the exam generally required to practice as one.

Several states, including California, where Zacharia lived before joining the White House, impose legal consequences for falsely presenting oneself as an attorney. Announcing her appointment last week, Trump wrote: “Katie is a distinguished Graduate of Pepperdine University, and the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, an attorney, and a frequent Commentator on outlets, including Fox News and Newsmax.” Zacharia drew renewed attention on Tuesday when she said she had passed the bar exam in China. “You said she’s an attorney. Where did she pass the bar exam? Which state?” a reporter asked Trump, who directed the question to his press secretary.

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“When I moved to China,” Zacharia responded, without offering additional details. She later said she had misunderstood the question. Her answer nevertheless triggered more scrutiny. “One cannot take an American state bar exam in China. Bar exams are administered at designated testing locations in each state of the union,” California Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu wrote on X. “Are Katie Zacharia and Trump lying when they say she is an attorney? If not, then she needs to disclose in what state she passed the bar.”

Zacharia lived and worked in Beijing for approximately two to three years after graduating from Pepperdine’s law school. From around August 2011 through June 2014, she worked at Zhong Lun Law Firm, while her husband, Tyler Zacharia, was employed by a private equity firm in the city. “I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials,” Zacharia said in a statement to the Daily Mail earlier this week. Her professional background also includes serving as general counsel for the conservative political organization Fix California, according to her LinkedIn profile. She has additionally identified herself as outside counsel for the World Bank Group and the International Finance Corporation.