New White House spokesperson admits failing bar exam, defends calling herself a 'lawyer'

Katie Zacharia, the new White House press secretary, has admitted she never passed the bar exam — while insisting she did nothing wrong by describing herself as a lawyer. The New York Times reported Thursday (local time) on a lengthy interview Zacharia gave, her first since taking office.

On her fourth day in the role, Zacharia appeared on the conservative outlet Real America's Voice to address a string of controversies that had erupted almost immediately after her appointment. The host was Jack Posobiec, a far-right influencer favored by the Donald Trump administration who rose to prominence spreading a conspiracy theory linking Democratic Party elites to child sex crimes — a theory Zacharia herself was once said to have helped amplify.

In the interview, Zacharia said she had sat for the bar exam but failed. Trump has nonetheless been introducing her as an "attorney."

Trump has for years mocked former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris for failing the bar exam. Both subsequently passed.

The controversy centers on terminology. Zacharia has referred to herself as a "lawyer" in media interviews and elsewhere, and her defense of that description rests on a distinction between "lawyer" and "attorney."

An "attorney," she argues, specifically refers to a licensed professional in the United States who represents clients in court or provides legal counsel. "Lawyer," by contrast, is a broader term encompassing anyone who has graduated from law school and holds a law degree.

"I never held myself out or represented myself as an attorney at law practicing law," Zacharia said.

Legal experts disagree. According to The New York Times, a number of legal professionals said that without a license, neither title is appropriate.

Jeremy Fogel, a former federal judge who leads the Berkeley Judicial Institute, said California law requires a person to be licensed by the state bar in order to practice law or hold themselves out as qualified to do so. "A law school graduate has clearly received a legal education," he said, "but the law does not give them the right to hold themselves out as a lawyer."

Zacharia told The New York Times on Wednesday that the president of her alma mater, Pepperdine University, had advised her during a broadcast that it was acceptable to introduce herself as a lawyer. In the interview, she said she had consulted "many people in that field for a very long time" and been told there was no problem — though she declined to name which president had given that advice.

Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law in 2011. The university's president at the time was Andrew Benton, who said in a phone call that day that he had never given her such advice — though he described Zacharia as "a young woman of high integrity."

The current president, Jim Gash, who took office in 2019, declined to comment on private conversations but said in a statement that "Pepperdine is proud to have Katie as an alumna."

Zacharia also revealed in the interview how quickly her appointment had come together. She said she was at a pumpkin patch with her young son last Wednesday when she received a call from the president. "I was so happy to get the president's call," she said. She flew to Washington the next day, met with Trump on Friday and accepted the position that same day.

She said she had arrived in Washington with only a carry-on bag and was staying at a hotel, so she flew back to California the following day to pack two proper suitcases. Although Monday was a federal holiday, the president asked her to come in, and she was at the podium in the briefing room the very next morning.

Zacharia also explained why her debut briefing on Tuesday had lasted less than six minutes, with only three outlets taking questions. She said a press secretary normally has ample time to prepare for a briefing held around 1 or 1:30 p.m., but she had been up since 3 a.m. that Tuesday working with whatever materials she had.

As for the brevity, she said it was entirely intentional. "The president is the best spokesperson," she said, adding that she wanted to leave room for Trump to take questions from reporters on his way to Marine One — something he enjoys doing. "It was completely my intention to keep the briefing short," she said.

She appeared aware that she remained at the center of controversy. "Right now I'm just watching what the president is doing and what he's focused on," Zacharia said. "I'm focused on understanding what the president is doing and getting that message out more broadly."

She added that she had no desire to check X, Instagram or television. When Posobiec suggested that Saturday Night Live would likely parody her soon, she said she knew it was coming — and added that she hoped an actor like Scarlett Johansson would play her.