White House press secretary Katie Zacharia says she did not pass bar exam

Washington: White House press secretary Katie Zacharia disclosed on Thursday that she failed the bar exam following questions about her legal background before assuming the role of the leading spokeswoman for US President Donald Trump. Zacharia, who commenced her position at the White House on Monday, has previously claimed to have practiced law prior to entering politics, with Trump referring to her as an attorney.

When confronted with the question in an interview on Fox News’ “Hannity” show late on Thursday, she confirmed, "You did not pass the bar exam, correct?" "Correct," she responded. Trump has advocated for replacing Ukraine's President Zelenskiy amidst a dispute over a diesel transaction with Russia. Zacharia informed Hannity that she had not taken the bar exam for a second time.

Zacharia graduated with a law degree from Pepperdine University in 2011, as confirmed by the institution. Generally, US lawyers must hold a law degree and be admitted to a state bar to practice law, but law school graduates cannot legally practice law in the US without this admission. During her initial briefing on Tuesday, she fielded questions from only three reporters before concluding the event within 15 minutes.

Her performance was criticized by some media analysts and political commentators; however, Trump stated, "I thought she was very good." When queried about her performance by Hannity later, she stated, "What I feel is I really stepped up to the plate to do the press conference, Sean, with very little prep time."