Katie Zacharia admits she never passed the bar after law school
The new press secretary for President Donald Trump said in interviews on October 15, 2026, that she took the California bar exam in 2011 after graduating from Pepperdine University’s law school but did not pass. She never tried again.
Zacharia explains the 2011 decision
Zacharia said she was distracted at the time. She got married the same week she graduated and planned to move to China with her husband.
“The results of the bar exam were inconsequential because I was already moving to a foreign country that didn’t require it,” she told USA TODAY. She sat for the test mainly so she would not have a withdrawal on her record.
Work in China and later claims
After moving to China, Zacharia worked on the international practice team at a major Chinese law firm. She handled multimillion-dollar shareholder agreements and cross-border deals. She said her law degree was enough for that role and that China did not require a US bar license.
When she returned to the United States, she continued to describe herself as a lawyer in public appearances and on television. President Trump also called her an “attorney” when he announced her appointment on October 9.
Zacharia later said she consulted legal experts who told her it was acceptable to call herself a “lawyer” but not an “attorney at law” because she holds a J.D. and had international experience. Some legal experts disagree and say using the title without a license is inappropriate.
No records show she is licensed to practice law in any US state. The California State Bar has no record of her being admitted.
Zacharia confirmed the failure clearly in a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity, answering “Correct” when asked if she did not pass and “I did not” when asked if she ever took the exam a second time. The admission comes after days of questions that began during her first White House press briefing.
