White House press secretary Katie Zacharia acknowledged late Thursday that she never passed the bar exam, a disclosure that follows days of questions about her legal credentials since joining the administration.
In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Zacharia was directly asked whether she had passed the bar exam despite graduating from Pepperdine Law School. She responded, "Correct," confirming she had not.
The admission comes after a rocky first week on the job, during which her legal background was scrutinized. President Trump had introduced her as an "attorney," and she had previously described herself as a lawyer. However, when reporters asked which state's bar she had passed, she gave a confusing response, saying, "When I moved to China," which she later explained was a mishearing of the question due to noise from Marine One.
Zacharia's initial press briefing on Tuesday drew criticism for her nervous demeanor and for taking questions from only three outlets. The scrutiny intensified when she failed to provide a clear answer about her bar status, prompting clarification efforts from her office.
In a subsequent interview with Real America's Voice, Zacharia said she had been registered to take the bar exam but decided not to sit for it because she was moving to China to support her husband's career. "I didn't want to withdraw from that, and we knew we would be moving out to China," she said. "And after moving to China, I didn't really think much of the bar results or consider that something that I needed to focus on."
Her explanation has not fully quelled questions about her legal background, with some critics noting that her previous public statements may have overstated her qualifications. The controversy has also drawn attention to her rapid rise to the press secretary role, which she secured after a series of television appearances tailored to the president's agenda.
Zacharia replaced Karoline Leavitt, who left the position last week. Trump announced her appointment on Friday, just days before her first briefing. The timing has raised eyebrows, as she was thrust into the spotlight without prior experience in the role.
Legal experts have noted that passing the bar is not a requirement for serving as press secretary, but the discrepancy between her stated qualifications and her actual record has become a political liability. The issue has also sparked broader questions about vetting processes within the administration, similar to recent controversies involving other officials.
Zacharia's admission has drawn sympathy from some quarters, including former press secretary Sean Spicer, who said he could relate to the pressures of the job. But her critics argue that the episode underscores a pattern of questionable credentialing in the administration.
As the story continues to develop, the White House has not indicated whether further action will be taken. For now, Zacharia remains in her post, but the bar exam controversy is likely to linger as a distraction.
