Katie Zacharia Defends Calling Herself a Lawyer in a New Interview
By Natalie Musumeci
Follow White House press secretary Katie Zacharia!
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
October 15, 2026, 10:56 PM GMT+2
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President Donald Trump's new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is defending her self-description as a lawyer, while acknowledging that she took the bar exam and considered the results "inconsequential."
Key Takeaways:
- Zacharia's legal qualifications have been under scrutiny since her debut White House media briefing.
- She moved to China after passing her law degree in 2011 and preregistered for the bar exam.
- Zacharia considered taking the bar "inconsequential" as she planned to practice in China.
- Reports suggest she failed California's bar exam.
- A BI review found no evidence she's been admitted to practice law in the US.
Quotes:
"I didn't want to withdraw from that. And we knew we would be moving out to China... I was obviously incredibly distracted and overwhelmed." - Katie Zacharia
"The results are somewhat inconsequential because I knew I wouldn't need the bar in China..." - Katie Zacharia
Full Text:
In an interview with right-wing provocateur Jack Posobiec on Real America's Voice, Zacharia addressed her legal qualifications, which have faced increasing scrutiny since her debut as White House press secretary this week.
Posobiec questioned her about reports that she'd failed California's bar exam after graduating from Pepperdine University in 2011, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Zacharia acknowledged taking the bar exam but defended her decision to do so.
"I didn't want to withdraw from that," she said, explaining that she and her husband had moved to China shortly after her graduation, and she had already preregistered for the bar. "And we knew we would be moving out to China, and I was obviously incredibly distracted and overwhelmed and excited for finally being married to someone who I had been long-distance from for at least a year."
She continued, "I thought I'd take the bar and 'see what happens.' The results are somewhat inconsequential because I knew I wouldn't need the bar in China, and we left shortly thereafter."
Zacharia worked at the Zhong Lun law firm in China after moving there, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Business Insider's review of records for all 50 states and the District of Columbia found no evidence that Zacharia has been admitted to practice law in the United States.