Is Trump’s new press secretary a lawyer? Questions swirl after Katie Zacharia claims to be an ‘attorney’

Standing behind the president after her bizarre first White House press briefing, Donald Trump’s new White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia was asked about her dubious history as an “attorney” despite no evidence suggesting she is licensed to practice law anywhere in the country.

Zacharia has repeatedly referred to herself as a lawyer throughout her media career, and Trump hailed Zacharia as an “attorney” in his Truth Social post announcing her appointment to the highly scrutinized role. But asked on Tuesday where she passed the bar exam, Trump looked back at his new press secretary and asked her, “Which state?”

“When I moved to China,” she said.

After graduating from Pepperdine University’s Caruso School of Law in 2011, Zacharia worked for Chinese firm Zhong Lun, where she has previously claimed she worked as an “outside counsel” to the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. “It was an interesting and exciting experience,” she told The Buck Sexton Show last year.

But it’s unclear whether she has actually passed a bar exam or been admitted to practice law in any U.S. state, according to an investigation from Judd Legum at Popular Information.

She is not listed with the State Bar of California, where she lives. She also does not appear on the state’s list of attorneys under her maiden name. An attorney with an identical name who does appear on the state’s list works for the Department of Child Support Services.

Her LinkedIn does not list any experience as an attorney except for 15 months as general counsel with Fix California, a right-wing nonprofit group founded by Richard Grenell, who previously served as acting director of national intelligence during the first Trump administration. Grenell was appointed “presidential envoy for special missions” in Trump’s second term.

The Independent has requested comment from the White House.

Fix California is “committed to pursuing long-term solutions that advance conservative ideas and causes throughout the state,” according to its website.

The group reported $557,089 in revenue in 2024, according to tax filings. It does not appear Zacharia was paid a salary, but she received $27,367 for her “in person and fundraising solicitation,” filings show.

So what did she do in China?

According to her LinkedIn, Zacharia was an “associate” on the “international practice team” at Zhong Lun Law Firm, an international firm with more than 400 partners and “2,200 professionals” in “17 locations throughout major financial centers in China as well as Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York,” according to the firm’s website.

Zacharia told Politico’s Dasha Burns that she “practiced international transactional law, with all the appropriate credentials” and never wanted to live in China.

The Independent has requested comment from the firm.

“One cannot take an American state bar exam in China. Bar exams are administered at designated testing locations in each state of the union,” said Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu, who serves on the House Judiciary Committee.

Following her work with Zhong Lun and Fix California, Zacharia does not appear to have engaged in any legal work. She began working as a commentator for right-wing media outlet Newsmax in 2024 and then as a commentator with Fox News the following year.

She also worked as a deputy assistant secretary for public affairs with the Department of Homeland Security from February to March of this year.

Since June, she has served as a senior communications adviser with the president’s social media platform Truth Social and its parent company Trump Media & Technology group — roles that she holds alongside her work at the White House, according to LinkedIn.

Zacharia also was appointed to the advisory board of NovaRed Mining, where she will provide “strategic guidance to the Board of Directors and management team in the areas of public affairs, government relations, communications, capital markets visibility, and corporate development” for a copper and gold mining project and “emerging artificial intelligence initiatives.”

The company, which later rebranded to NRED Intelligent Mining Inc., described her as “an attorney, political strategist, media commentator, and international advisor whose career spans legal affairs, public policy, strategic communications, and business development” in a press release announcing the appointment.

CEO Brian Goss also touted her “legal expertise” in the announcement.

After Tuesday’s press briefing, the White House called her performance “powerful” and “commanding.”

“The briefing, which generated wall-to-wall coverage, served as a strong introduction to her tenure and highlighted the Trump Administration’s record of delivering historic successes for the American people,” according to a White House press release.