Katie Zakaria, the newly appointed White House press secretary ( Katie Zacharia ), has repeatedly claimed to be a lawyer.

This conservative commentator is now being scrutinized due to her legal qualifications. Previously, after she held her first media briefing at the White House, someone asked her for an explanation regarding this matter.

On Tuesday, after a press briefing, when U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to reporters, one reporter asked him in which state Zakaria passed the bar exam.

The reporter asked, 'In which state did she pass the bar exam? You said she is a lawyer. Where did she pass the bar exam? Which state?'

Then, Trump turned to Zachariah, who was standing behind him, and asked, 'Which state?'

Zakaria replied, "When I moved to China."

Her response further deepened the confusion among outsiders about where she might have obtained her legal practice qualifications in the United States. State bar exams are usually conducted on-site within the respective judicial jurisdictions.

Business Insider sought comment from the White House regarding Zachariah's legal background, but the White House did not respond immediately.

Although Zakaria has lived and worked in California, her name does not seem to appear in the database of lawyers affiliated with the California State Bar. She also does not seem to be listed as a member of the District of Columbia Bar in Washington, D.C.

Zakaria graduated from Pepperdine University in California in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Government. According to university information, she later obtained a Juris Doctor degree from the Caruso School of Law at the same institution in 2011.

Her LinkedIn profile shows that she served as the General Legal Counsel for the non-profit organization Fix California, headquartered in California, from January 2024 to March 2025. According to her LinkedIn information, over a decade ago, Zakaria also worked as a legal assistant at Zhonglun Law Firm, which is headquartered in Beijing.

In a subsequent post published by her, Zakaria stated that serving Trump and the American people is a "lifelong honor."

Zakaria said at the White House press briefing on Tuesday, "I want to thank President Trump for his trust in me. I have always been very eager to work for him."