Katey Zakaria, the new White House press secretary under President Donald Trump, has come under growing criticism over claims about her professional background.
On Wednesday, the public accountability nonprofit filed a complaint with the California attorney’s office over Zakaria’s repeated claims to be a lawyer.
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If false claims are made, such claims are a state crime. Zakaria’s LinkedIn profile shows she earned a degree from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in 2011, but critics have questioned whether she is licensed to practice law, as she has suggested.
Michelle Kuppersmith, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Accountability Campaign, said in a statement that “Mr. Zakaria has repeatedly identified himself as a lawyer to enhance his reputation and credibility as a television legal commentator and now serves as White House press secretary.” “But it seems like it was all a lie.”
Her organization filed a complaint with the California State Bar, the regulatory agency that oversees attorney licensure.
“In California, it’s no exaggeration to call yourself a lawyer without a license, it’s a crime,” Kuppersmith said.
“State courts should investigate whether Mr. Zakaria misled the public about his qualifications and hold him accountable if he did.”
Zakaria, a frequent commentator on Fox News and Newsmax, began his term as White House press secretary on Tuesday.
At a press conference that day, she spoke in a slow and slow manner, at times seeming to repeat herself.
Her appearance was short, less than 15 minutes. She spent much of her time at the podium thanking President Trump for the opportunity and reading a prepared statement.
“I’ve wanted to work for him for a long time,” Zakaria said.
She then joined President Trump outside the White House and spoke further with reporters. When asked where he passed the bar exam, Zakaria replied, “When I moved to China.”
The response was an apparent reference to the three years she claimed to have worked at a law firm in Beijing.
A biography posted on the website of pro-Trump women’s group Trumpets USA says she “served as an outside advisor” to the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation during her time in Beijing.
Meanwhile, Zakaria’s LinkedIn profile shows that he worked as an associate at Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing from 2011 to 2013. More recently, from 2024 to 2025, he was listed as general counsel for Fix California, a voter rights group founded by Trump administration officials.
Zakaria describes herself on her Instagram profile as a “wife, mother, and lawyer.”
But Zakaria’s claims that he passed the Chinese bar exam have drawn increased media scrutiny. China’s equivalent of the bar exam, the National Unified Bar Qualification Examination, is notoriously difficult and can only be taken by Chinese citizens.
In rare cases, China allows foreigners to practice law in the country if they have several years of experience in their home country.
But that doesn’t seem to be the case with Zakaria. According to media reports, Zakaria is not admitted to practice law in any state in the United States.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Zakaria responded to the inquiry, saying, “I practice international trade law with all appropriate qualifications.”
Since President Trump returned for a second term, Zakaria has spent several months as a communications adviser at the Department of Homeland Security.
Since June, she has also worked as a senior communications advisor at Trump Media and Technology Group, which owns the Truth Social platform.
