White House Press Secretary Promoted Posts Calling Her Attorney

New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia shared at least 15 social media posts identifying her as an attorney over a two-year span, despite failing the California bar exam and acknowledging she was advised against using that title. “I didn’t really think much of the bar results or consider that something that I needed to focus on,” she said.

While at least one post has since been deleted, records show she repeatedly amplified the designation to followers and referred to herself as a lawyer during media appearances.

The posts have drawn fresh scrutiny regarding her public presentation of legal credentials earned after graduating from the Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law in 2011. A source familiar with her thinking confirmed a report that she failed the bar exam that year, and Zacharia acknowledged she never retook the test. According to questions about Zacharia’s credentials spilled into public view this week when reporters pressed Trump about where his new press secretary had passed the bar exam after the investigative newsletter Popular Information, It was unclear if she had ever taken it.

In interviews with The New York Times and Real America’s Voice, Zacharia stated she consulted Pepperdine’s president and others before television appearances, receiving guidance that she could use the term lawyer but not attorney or esquire. A source close to her explained that sharing the posts was not meant to endorse the attorney title. Zacharia told Fox News that the items were retweets and that she had clarified the record regarding the titles.

California mandates that individuals practicing law in the state pass the bar exam and treats pretending to be a lawyer as a misdemeanor. The California bar association confirmed it has no record of her holding a license to practice in the state, though confidentiality rules prevented officials from discussing whether she sat for the exam. A watchdog group, Campaign for Accountability, has asked the State Bar of California to investigate whether Zacharia misrepresented her legal qualifications.

Zacharia maintained she carefully avoided appearing as an attorney at law. During a Christian podcast interview in October 2023, she mentioned attending law school prior to moving to Beijing, where she worked in the legal field for roughly two to two and a half years. She told Real America’s Voice that she considered the bar exam result inconsequential upon moving to join her husband in China because it would not impact her employment there. She stated she worked in the international practice division at Zhong Lun Law firm alongside a senior partner handling major shareholder deals, believing she met all necessary requirements. Under Chinese law, however, foreign nationals are ineligible to take the local bar exam and cannot work as licensed lawyers or handle litigation. According to “They, Absolutely across the board, you can call yourself a lawyer, you have a JD, and, to buffer that, you have international legal experience in transactional law, which gives you the ability to analyze it, not nec.

Social Media Amplification and Public Appearances

• April 26, 2025: Shared a Fox News headline on X featuring the text, Only Democrats don’t want proof of citizenship in US elections, attorney says, which has since been deleted.
• April 26, 2025: Posted the same headline six times on Truth Social, followed by another share on May 14.
• August 23, 2025: Shared a Fox News headline identifying her as an attorney during a segment criticizing California Governor Gavin Newsom.
• May 14, 2026 to September 11, 2026: Reposted six One America News segments identifying her as Attorney, including two posts on June 4, one on June 17, and two on September 11.
• Early October 2026: Stated I’m a lawyer during an appearance on The Greg Kelly Show while discussing federal attorney nomination confirmation processes.

The White House has maintained support for Zacharia, with a spokesperson stating she is uniquely qualified and exceptionally smart to help inform the public about the administration’s agenda.