White House press secretary Katie Zacharia confirmed Thursday that she failed the California bar exam in 2011 and never retook it, but maintains she can still call herself a lawyer.
Zacharia earned a law degree from Pepperdine University but is not licensed to practice law in any U.S. state. She has defended her use of the title by pointing to her education and previous work at a law firm in China.
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Earlier this week, Zacharia faced questions about her legal credentials and whether she had misrepresented them. After her first White House briefing Tuesday, she appeared to tell reporters she had passed the bar after moving to China. She later said she had misunderstood the question, believing she was being asked where she went after law school.
On Thursday night, Zacharia appeared on Fox News with Sean Hannity to explain why she considers herself a lawyer but not an attorney.
“Why get into this long, drawn-out definition between the difference between a lawyer and an attorney? ” Hannity asked her. “Cause I don’t think most people see much of a distinction.”
Zacharia said she consulted attorneys and other legal professionals before describing herself as a lawyer in media appearances. She argued that her law degree and professional experience justified the title, while drawing a distinction between offering legal commentary and providing legal advice.
“I wasn’t providing any legal analysis, Sean — or, excuse me, legal advice. I wasn’t being paid for legal advice. I was giving a general review of the legal circumstances surrounding it,” she said.
Is there a difference?
The distinction Zacharia draws between “lawyer” and “attorney” is not one recognized by the American Bar Association, which uses the terms interchangeably in its professional conduct rules.bly.
Some legal websites describe a lawyer as someone who has graduated from law school and an attorney as someone who is licensed to practice. But that is not a universal legal distinction, and having a law degree alone does not authorize someone to practice law.
States generally require admission to the bar or another form of authorization to practice law, although some provide alternatives to the traditional bar exam. There is no public record establishing that Zacharia holds an active U.S. law license
Watchdog group calls for investigation
On Wednesday, the watchdog group Campaign for Accountability (CfA)) filed a complaint with the State Bar of California, asking it to investigate whether Zacharia violated state law by presenting herself as a lawyer without a license.
“In California, calling yourself a lawyer without a license isn’t puffery; it’s a crime,” CfA executive director Michelle Kuppersmith said in a statement. “The State Bar should investigate whether Ms. Zacharia has misled the public about her credentials and hold her accountable if she has.”
The complaint alleges Zacharia violated California’s Business and Professions Code section 6126(a) by identifying herself as a lawyer in at least one interview. It also cites at least 18 Fox News appearances since March 2025 in which she was described as a lawyer, along with instances in which she identified herself as outside counsel or general counsel to organizations.
The complaint is a request for an investigation, not a finding that Zacharia violated the law.
During her Hannity interview, Zacharia maintained that she had done nothing wrong because she had not specifically called herself an attorney.
Asked about social media posts identifying her as an attorney, Zacharia said she had reposted descriptions written by others and later clarified that she was not endorsing the title.
“I think they were retweets and I corrected the record and said I was not endorsing the title, they were retweets of a title that had been given,” she said.
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