Katie Zacharia, Trump’s new press secretary, has said she did not pass the bar exam. It follows questions about her credentials after Trump called her an attorney.
Katie Zacharia, Trump’s new White House press secretary, has admitted she never passed the bar exam, days after Trump called her an attorney. “You went to Pepperdine Law School but you did not pass the bar exam, correct?” Fox News host Sean Hannity asked her on Thursday. “Correct,” she replied. Asked whether she ever retook it, she said she didn’t.
The questions began after her first press briefing on Tuesday. Reporters asked Trump: “What state did she pass the bar exam in? You said she is an attorney. Where did she pass the bar exam? Which State?” Trump turned to Zacharia, who was standing beside him, and asked: “Which state?”
“When I moved to China,” she answered. She told the New York Times afterward that she had misheard the question.
What Zacharia says happened
In an earlier interview on Thursday with Real America’s Voice, Zacharia said she did take the California bar exam after graduating from Pepperdine’s law school in 2011, but she stopped short of saying whether she passed. Two people with direct knowledge told ABC News she didn’t, and the Wall Street Journal reported the same.
She told Real America’s Voice that she had been planning to move to China to join her husband when she took the exam, and called the result “somewhat inconsequential.” “I had enough credentials, which was my law degree, to be able to be in this practice,” she said. The State Bar of California says it has no record of her being licensed under her married or maiden name. Zacharia told reporters she does not plan to weigh in on legal matters as press secretary.
A complaint to the California State Bar
On Wednesday, a watchdog group, Campaign for Accountability, asked the California State Bar to investigate her claims to be a lawyer. According to its complaint, Zacharia said she was a lawyer in at least 18 TV appearances between February 2025 and October 2026. “The repetition and breadth of these statements weigh heavily in favor of investigation,” it says.
A Pepperdine spokesperson told Snopes that she graduated with a JD from Caruso School of Law in 2011. Pepperdine says on its website that a JD is the main credential for people who want to become practicing attorneys and prepares graduates for the state bar exam, which is required to practice law. A JD isn’t the same as passing the bar.
What the White House has said
The White House hasn’t directly commented on whether she passed the bar. A White House official said she has “her JD from Pepperdine.” Spokesperson Steven Cheung told UNILAD: “Katie is a fabulous and wonderful addition to the team. She is uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people about all the great things President Trump and his Administration have been doing, and she will do an incredible job as Press Secretary.”
Zacharia took over from Karoline Leavitt last week. She previously worked as a senior communications advisor at Trump Media and Technology Group. In announcing her appointment, Trump called her “outstanding” and “a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning.”
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