Trump's new press secretary defends 'lawyer' title

Washington: Katie Zacharia, Donald Trump's latest White House press secretary, faced scrutiny over her legal status on Thursday. Despite her portrayal as a lawyer in media appearances and on social media, there is no evidence to suggest she has ever passed the bar exam, which is required to practice law in the United States. Appointed by Trump in August, Zacharia had described herself as a general counsel of a California-based conservative nonprofit.

However, she claimed she had registered to take the bar exam but was distracted by moving to China with her husband. Upon returning to the U.S. after giving birth to her first child, Zacharia worked as a lawyer at a major Chinese law firm and argued she could legally label herself a lawyer due to her law degree and experience. The Campaign for Accountability, a political ethics group, called for a California Bar Association investigation, stating that referring to oneself as a lawyer without a license is a crime in California.

Zacharia made her first White House press appearance on Tuesday, replacing Karoline Leavitt, who stepped down to care for her young children.