White House press secretary Katie Zacharia faces bar complaint over lawyer label
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia faces a California State Bar complaint over calling herself a lawyer.
The dispute turns on whether a law degree alone makes someone a lawyer.
Background
Katie Zacharia is the White House Press Secretary, a Pepperdine Caruso Law graduate and former general counsel of the advocacy group Fix California. Questions about her legal credentials arose after she took the press secretary post and described herself as a lawyer in numerous media appearances. She took the California bar exam after graduating in 2011 but did not pass it, and says she never practiced law. California law says falsely holding oneself out as eligible to practice law is a crime punishable by jail time.
How it unfolded
- 2011After graduating from Pepperdine Law School, Zacharia took the California bar exam but did not pass.
- date unknownAsked where she passed the bar exam, Zacharia said, "When I moved to China." She later told The New York Times she misunderstood the question.
- Oct 13, 2026Zacharia departs following a news briefing in the White House press briefing room.
- Oct 15, 2026The Campaign for Accountability files a complaint with the State Bar of California challenging her description of herself as a lawyer and as a general counsel.
- Oct 15, 2026Zacharia tells Real America's Voice host Jack Posobiec she was never licensed to practice law anywhere in the country, and is pressed on her credentials on Fox News's Hannity.
- Oct 16, 2026Newsmax's Bianca Across the Nation debates whether she was right to call herself a lawyer despite never passing the bar.
- Oct 20, 2026Law.com publishes a report raising ethics questions about the professional title.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Zacharia says she labeled herself a lawyer based on advice from people in the field who told her "absolutely, across the board. You can call yourself a lawyer," and that she gave only a general review of legal circumstances, not legal advice.
- Caution
- The Campaign for Accountability filed a State Bar of California complaint challenging her description of herself as a lawyer and as a general counsel.
- Expert
- Law.com reported that the episode raises ethics questions about the professional title, noting California law makes falsely holding oneself out as eligible to practice law a crime.
- Public
- Fox News host Sean Hannity asked why she did not simply say she took the bar once, did not pass it, and never practiced law.
Still unverified
Law.com asks whether anyone would really prosecute the former White House press secretary over falsely holding oneself out as eligible to practice law.