President Donald Trump's new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, is facing mounting scrutiny just days into her appointment, not only over her rocky debut before reporters but also over questions surrounding her professional qualifications as a lawyer. An American watchdog group has filed a complaint with the State Bar of California, asking it to investigate whether Zacharia violated state law by repeatedly presenting herself as an attorney despite no public record showing that she holds a license to practice law in the United States.
The complaint adds to the pressure facing the 41-year-old spokeswoman, who took over from Karoline Leavitt and held her first White House press briefing on October 13. At the center of the controversy is whether Zacharia, who has frequently described herself as a lawyer during television appearances and in professional roles, is legally qualified to use that title.
Katie Zacharia's first press briefing
Campaign for Accountability said Zacharia had identified herself as a lawyer during appearances on Fox News, CNN and the conservative Newsmax network. She also had presented herself as general counsel for a conservative nonprofit organization based in California. The watchdog's executive director, Michelle Kuppersmith, accused Zacharia of repeatedly presenting herself as a lawyer to enhance her professional reputation and credibility, and called on California's legal regulator to investigate whether she had misled the public about her qualifications.
The filing of a complaint does not establish wrongdoing, and there has been no finding that Zacharia violated the law.
‘When I moved to China’
Questions surrounding Zacharia's credentials have become particularly awkward because Trump himself described her as an attorney when announcing her appointment on October 9. Yet journalists searching attorney licensing databases have found no record that she was admitted to practice law in any U.S. state.
During her first White House briefing on Tuesday, Zacharia was asked where she had passed the bar examination. Her answer was brief and raised further questions: "When I moved to China."
In a subsequent statement to AFP, Zacharia said she had practiced international transactional law with the appropriate professional credentials. However, she did not clarify whether she holds a U.S. law license or specify where she had qualified to practice law. The State Bar of California confirmed to American media outlets that it had no record of Zacharia being licensed under either her married name or her maiden name.
Zacharia faces reporters at her first press briefing
(Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine University's law school in 2011, but obtaining a law degree does not automatically authorize someone to practice law in the United States. Lawyers generally must also satisfy the licensing requirements of the jurisdiction in which they practice.
Her reference to China raised additional questions because foreign nationals are not permitted to sit for the country's national legal qualification examination, although foreign professionals may perform certain legal work at Chinese law firms. Zacharia has said she worked at a law firm in Beijing after moving to China with her husband.
Speaking to The New York Times, Zacharia said that when she first began appearing on American television news programs, she asked Pepperdine University how she should describe her professional background. According to her account, the university president told her she could use the word lawyer but not attorney, which she understood to refer specifically to someone licensed to practice law.
The distinction, however, is not necessarily recognized in the way Zacharia described it under U.S. professional licensing rules, particularly when someone presents themselves publicly as authorized to provide legal services. Trump used the term attorney when announcing her appointment.
New White House Spokesperson Katie Zakaria Zakaria with Donald Trump
(Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
The Wall Street Journal reported that Zacharia had taken California's bar examination after graduating from law school but failed it. California's examination is widely regarded as one of the most demanding in the country.
The White House has defended its new press secretary. Communications Director Steven Cheung described Zacharia as exceptionally capable and highly intelligent, arguing that she was qualified to help communicate the administration's message to the American public.
Former professors have also spoken in her defense. Robert Pushaw, who taught Zacharia at Pepperdine and later attended her wedding, remembered her as a good law student and a genuinely good person. He acknowledged, however, that he could not say whether she was technically licensed as an attorney.
Another former professor, Roger Alford, now at the University of Notre Dame, described Zacharia as a standout student at Pepperdine. Alford, who employed her as a research assistant during law school, urged critics to get to know her before rushing to judgment. At the same time, he acknowledged the unusual nature of a situation in which someone describes themselves as a lawyer without having passed a bar examination.
‘My president, sorry, my husband’
The controversy over Zacharia's qualifications follows a difficult first appearance as White House press secretary on October 13. Her debut briefing lasted just 14 minutes and featured extensive reliance on prepared notes, an unusually brief appearance compared with the press conferences frequently held by her predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, some of which lasted nearly an hour.
Zacharia accidentally referred to the president as her husband
Zacharia opened by slowly reading from prepared material and took questions from just three media outlets, all generally considered sympathetic to Trump. She appeared to stumble during several exchanges and, at one point, accidentally referred to the president as her husband.
The slip occurred while she was discussing her family and praising her husband, Tyler Zacharia, for helping manage their family life. "First of all, I want to give a huge shoutout to my husband," she began, before explaining that the couple have four children, ages 12, 10, eight and six.
Zacharia said spending evenings with her children was a top priority and that her husband had accompanied her to Washington during a week when the family was celebrating two birthdays. Then came the verbal mix-up.
"My president, sorry, my husband," she said, catching herself and laughing at the mistake.
Katie Zacharia at her first White House press briefing
(Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
During the briefing, Zacharia also told reporters that her goal was to amplify Trump's accomplishments, emphasizing that the president was his own most effective spokesman. When she brought the session to an abrupt end, she told journalists they would have an opportunity to ask Trump questions directly on the White House South Lawn before he departed for a campaign event in Alaska.
Critics suggested that Zacharia appeared nervous and had ended the session earlier than originally planned.
Former White House press secretaries weigh in
Zacharia's performance drew criticism from several former White House communications officials. Jen Psaki, who served as press secretary under former President Joe Biden and now works as a television news host, compared the briefing to a sketch from the comedy program Saturday Night Live.
Sarah Matthews, a former deputy White House press secretary during Trump's first administration, was similarly critical. Writing on X, Matthews contrasted Zacharia's debut with the first appearances of former Trump press secretaries Kayleigh McEnany and Karoline Leavitt.
Matthews argued that regardless of whether people liked McEnany or Leavitt, both had arrived at their first briefings sharply prepared, confident and ready to demonstrate their command of the job. Zacharia's appearance, she said, had been disappointing, pointing to the small number of questions taken, her heavy reliance on notes and her apparent difficulty commanding the briefing room.
US President Donald Trump: 'I thought she was very good'
(Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)
Trump, however, offered a sharply different assessment. Asked by reporters about his new press secretary's first appearance, the president praised her performance, saying: "I thought she was very good."
For Zacharia, the immediate challenge now extends beyond improving her performance behind the White House podium. The complaint filed in California has placed her legal qualifications under scrutiny, with the state's bar authorities being asked to determine whether her public descriptions of her professional status crossed a legal line. Whether the complaint results in any formal action remains unclear.