White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Zacharia has defended her use of the term "lawyer" to describe herself, despite not holding a law licence. Zacharia completed her studies at Pepperdine Law School in 2011 and subsequently sat for the California bar examination without obtaining a passing result.
During a television interview, Zacharia said much of the confusion stemmed from her choice to identify herself as a "lawyer" — a term she said she had vetted extensively with professionals in the field before adopting — and that she had consistently drawn a distinction between that label and titles such as "attorney at law" or "Katie Zacharia esquire," while also being clear that what she offered was legal analysis rather than legal advice. She said every professional she consulted gave the same answer.
Questions about Zacharia's legal qualifications had been circulating before she took up the position, given that she had described herself as a lawyer across a range of media appearances. In a Truth Social post disclosing the appointment, President Trump used the word "attorney" to characterise her professional standing.
Among the positions Zacharia previously held was a legal role at Fix California — the advocacy organisation established by Ric Grenell — where she served as the group's general counsel. Speaking to a television news programme, Zacharia explained that a position opened up for her within the international practice arm of a law firm based in China, noting that no Chinese bar qualification exists and that her law degree provided the credentials needed to carry out that work.
On the same Tuesday that Zacharia concluded her debut press briefing, she accompanied Trump as he departed on a three-day campaign tour. During a press exchange, Trump directed a question about bar exam location toward a reporter, who replied that her time after law school had taken her to China. Zacharia later told a broadcast outlet that she had misread the intent of the question, believing it to be asking about her whereabouts following graduation rather than the exam itself.
On Wednesday, the Campaign for Accountability filed a formal complaint with the State Bar of California, contesting her stated professional identity as both an active attorney and a general counsel — titles she had grounded in her involvement with multi-million-dollar cross-border transactions.
During the same television interview, Zacharia described the steps taken to prepare for Tuesday's briefing. The session was limited to three questions from reporters and concluded within 14 minutes. Zacharia said the briefing documents arrived only the evening prior, prompting her to rise at 3 a.m. to begin preparation. She noted the documents were not ready until around 8 a.m. and said no thorough briefing had been provided to her in advance.
When asked about a potential Saturday Night Live sketch, Zacharia expressed a preference for a character modelled on Scarlett Johansson. She also said her media consumption had narrowed entirely to tracking the president's actions, setting aside platforms such as X and Instagram as well as television in order to maintain that focus. The show has no new episodes scheduled for the coming two weeks.
