Katie Zacharia is the new White House press secretary, replacing Karoline Leavitt in that role. Her appointment was accompanied by numerous questions about her legal qualifications, and her debut briefing with journalists was widely assessed poorly.
First briefing and media engagement
Six days after receiving a phone call from the White House, Zacharia took the podium at her first briefing. According to her own words, the first briefing was "requested to be held" already on her second day at work. In a brief interview with the Guardian on Thursday, she was unwilling to clarify how often she would hold briefings or to what extent she would engage with journalists, explaining that this is "unknown at this moment." She added that Trump is "her best spokesperson" and that she will "participate as needed," concluding: "I follow the president's lead."
From phone call to press secretary
On Wednesday, 7 October, a White House official called Zacharia and asked her to travel from Los Angeles to Washington for a meeting. She did not wish to reveal who made the call. The trip took place the following day, and on Friday she met with officials on Pennsylvania Avenue. The job was offered later that day, and she accepted it. "I flew home, packed two bags, said goodbye to the kids, husband and dogs," she recounted. She returned to Washington on Sunday, ahead of the first working day on Monday.
Questions about the bar exam
After her debut briefing on Tuesday, journalists asked Zacharia to specify in which state she passed the bar exam. She replied: "When I moved to China." She later told the New York Times that she "misheard" the question due to the sound of Marine One on the South Lawn and that she thought the reporter was asking where she had been after finishing law school. She did not confirm to the Times whether she passed the bar exam.
According to her LinkedIn profile, after graduating from Pepperdine University's law school in 2011, she was an "associate" at the Beijing law firm Zhong Lun from 2011 to 2013. The Wall Street Journal, citing a person familiar with the matter, reported that Zacharia did not pass the California bar exam after graduation. The State Bar of California told the Guardian it has no record of Zacharia being licensed in that state, under either her married or maiden name Katie Black.
Trump calls her a "lawyer"
Trump has called Zacharia a "lawyer." In an interview with Human Events on Thursday, Zacharia admitted to Jack Posobiec that she did not pass the California bar exam. She explained that she was "distracted, overwhelmed and excited" about moving to China with her new husband, where he worked, after more than a year of a long-distance relationship. A person familiar with the matter said Zacharia "stands by" calling herself a lawyer, considering the title "valid" given her law degree and "experience in international transactional law." According to that person, Zacharia did so after "consulting with other legal professionals and attorneys" about the appropriateness of such a title, and never gave legal advice, only "legal analyses." Many legal experts note that the terms "lawyer" and "attorney" are often used as synonyms.
Call for investigation and professional history
On Wednesday, the Campaign for Accountability requested that the State Bar of California investigate whether Zacharia misled the public by describing herself as a lawyer and whether she potentially violated state law. Her LinkedIn profile shows a ten-year gap during her time in China. Wired reported on Thursday that during that period she worked as an "affiliate marketer" for Beachbody, which Zacharia described to Wired as "a sort of pyramid scheme." She later claimed to have been "chief legal counsel" for the conservative group Fix California, founded by Richard Grenell, a longtime Trump ally and special presidential envoy for special missions. The Guardian contacted both Zhong Lun and Fix California seeking additional details about her legal roles in those organisations.
Political background
Zacharia said she did not "want this to be seen as lobbying" for the press secretary position and that she closely followed Trump's social media posts before appearing on conservative talk shows to "present herself" for the job. When Trump announced he had chosen Zacharia, he described her as a "dedicated Maga fan" with "impeccable evidence of support" who has "been a loyal and brilliant supporter from day one." Zacharia previously served as an adviser at Trump Media Group, which owns the president's platform Truth Social, and briefly worked as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security. When asked by the Guardian what reasons the White House gave for offering her the job, Zacharia declined to comment.
