Announcing Katie Zacharia as White House press secretary on October 9, 2026, Trump described her as “a distinguished Graduate of Pepperdine University, and the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, an attorney.” Zacharia has also described herself that way on air, saying “I'm a lawyer” on the Greg Kelly Show on October 5, Popular Information reported.
Popular Information reported that it found no record of her admission to practice law in any U.S. state or the District of Columbia. A Daily Beast review found she has not passed the bar in California, where she says she practiced, and that she is not listed with the State Bar of Texas or the D.C. Bar. Asked about her credentials, the White House press office replied, “Refer you to the President's TRUTH on Katie.” On October 13, when a reporter asked Trump, “Where did she pass the bar exam? Which state?” and he turned to her, she answered, “When I moved to China,” the Daily Mail and C-SPAN reported; the Roll Call Factbase transcript marks her reply inaudible. She told Politico she “practiced international transactional law, with all the appropriate credentials,” the Daily Beast reported, which does not claim admission to a U.S. bar.
CNN's KFile also reviewed her past social media posts, including “Pedo Podesta. #pedoPodesta” in 2022, a repost reading “Putin is at war with the CABAL - and the Ukraine is in bed with them,” and a June 2025 post saying “Suspend habeas corpus.” Asked about them, she told CNN, “I am grateful to serve President Trump as Press Secretary, and I will diligently and effectively amplify his successful agenda.” Holding a law degree without bar admission is not illegal; the question is whether the president and his spokesperson have described her accurately.
Update (October 14, 2026): a California State Bar spokesperson said it “has no record of Kate Sharon Zacharia or Kate Sharon Black having been licensed to practice law in California,” CNN reported. CNN also reported that “Only citizens can become licensed to practice law in China, according to the Ministry of Justice.” A White House official told CNN she moved to China with her husband after law school and worked on international transaction law, without saying whether she passed any bar. The watchdog Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the State Bar of California citing Business and Professions Code Section 6126(a), which makes it a misdemeanor for an unlicensed person to hold themselves out as entitled to practice law; its director said, “In California, calling yourself a lawyer without a license isn't puffery; it's a crime.”
Update (October 17, 2026): on October 15 a senior administration official told NBC News that Zacharia did not pass the bar exam, and she acknowledged it herself; Politico reported she failed the California bar in 2011 and did not retake it. She told Real America's Voice, “I never came across as someone who was an attorney at law,” told Sean Hannity, “It was never my intent to go into the practice of law,” and told SFGATE by email, “I never provided legal services.” The Hill reported she told the New York Times the results were “somewhat inconsequential.” On October 14 the Democracy Defenders Fund also asked Attorney General Rob Bonta and the State Bar to investigate, NBC reported.
On October 16, five days after she started, the White House said she was “transitioning out”; spokesman Steven Cheung said she “will continue to support the President as she transitions to a new role.” CNN reported she “was dismissed from her post” and quoted Trump saying he told her, “Honestly, if I were you, I'd reconsider.” Trump also said, “I just want her to be happy,” SFGATE reported. Campaign for Accountability's Michelle Kuppersmith said her “departure does not wipe clean the fact that she consistently, and apparently falsely, held herself out as a lawyer.”