Katie Zacharia failed California bar exam, raising questions over legal credentials
Katie Zacharia, President Donald Trump’s new White House press secretary, failed the California bar exam and has not passed a US bar examination, according to a person familiar with the matter. The revelation has raised questions about her repeated descriptions of herself as a lawyer and about the credentials behind her earlier legal work.
Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011 and later worked in China, including at a prominent law firm, on international transactions. Searches of licensing records in California, Texas and Washington, DC, found no attorney registration under her married or maiden name. She says she practised international transaction law with appropriate credentials; the White House says she was appointed to communicate policy, not provide legal services.
- Zacharia reportedly failed the California bar exam.
- No US bar admission was found in three jurisdictions.
- The White House says her role is communications, not legal work.
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In the US, lawyers generally need to pass a state bar exam and meet other requirements to practise law in that state. A law degree alone does not grant a licence, and licensing records are maintained by state authorities.
Katie Zacharia studied law at Pepperdine University and later worked in China on international transactions. Her career has included legal work, while her current role as White House press secretary is to communicate the president’s policies.
The distinction matters because calling someone a lawyer can imply they hold a professional licence. Legal credentials can vary between countries and types of work, so the rules that applied to Zacharia’s work in China may differ from those for practising in a US state.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The public has a legitimate interest in whether a senior White House spokesperson has represented her legal qualifications accurately, particularly given her descriptions of herself as a lawyer and her past legal work. Clear disclosure of her exam results and the credentials under which she worked would help establish whether those descriptions were fair and maintain trust in official communications.
The case against
Failing one jurisdiction’s bar exam does not by itself establish that Zacharia misrepresented her education or work, and licensing rules vary across jurisdictions and types of international legal practice. Her supporters could argue that her experience and law degree may justify describing her background as legal, while her current communications role does not require admission to a US bar.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “New White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia did not pass bar exam, report says, as she battles questions over her resume”.