Katie Zacharia’s turbulent career and history before becoming White House press secretary

Katie Zacharia has just become the White House press secretary, and it’s not been a great debut for her career progression. Her first appearance has been labelled “bumpy” and “awkward”, which is a kind way of putting it, as she faced reporters for the first time during a 14-minute briefing. 

On her second day on the job, Katie did the briefing. She mistakingly got Donald Trump and her husband the wrong way around, with most of her time being dedicated to an opening statement about Trump’s accomplishments. She called on just three reporters for questions before ending the briefing.

It lasted around 14 minutes, which notably shorter than those from Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, whose briefings lasted for about an average of 45 minutes. The Atlantic labelled it as like Katie’s “first time reading words out loud”. Ouch.

via SAMUEL CORUM/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock

What did Katie Zacharia do before she was press secretary and why are people questioning her credentials? 

According to her LinkedIn, Katie Zacharia received a law degree from Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law in 2011. She previously got a Bachelor’s degree in political science and government from Pepperdine University.

She has had a huge amount of jobs over the years. She started as a part-time intern at the Republican National Committee, and then interned at The White House. While at uni she was the assistant to the university president, and then became a research assistant to two law professors. 

Following university, Katie was an associate at a law firm in China for just under two years, and at the same time worked as manager of fundraising and communications at a company called Compassion for Migrant Children, also in China. 

During her first White House press conference, Katie Zacharia told reporters she passed the bar when she was in China. “I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials,” she added.

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It’s since been reported that her passing of the bar is under investigation. Campaign for Accountability, a nonpartisan watchdog group, filed a complaint with the State Bar of California seeking an investigation into whether she violated the law by inflating her legal resume. She has repeatedly referred to herself as a “lawyer” in media appearances. 

A spokesperson for the State Bar of California told NBC that Katie Zacharia had never “appeared on a California bar exam pass list”, and the state does not have a record of her having been licensed to practice law.

A White House official has since said: “She moved to China with her husband after graduating Pepperdine Caruso School of Law because of his job at an American private equity firm. In China, she worked on international transaction law until they moved back to the States.”

via Gripas Yuri/ABACA/Shutterstock

Back in California, she said she was a stay-at-home-mum from 2014 to 2020. Katie then worked remotely as a General Counsel at Fix California, before moving into more media roles. Katie has recently worked as a commentator for Newsmax Media and Fox News TV. 

“What I perceived was a career break was actually such a gift and motivated me even more, and no years were lost,” she said, in a July podcast episode for LA Mom Magazine.

Ahead of her current role as White House press secretary, Katie was working as a deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security. As well as her current role, she is listed as having two further full-time jobs. Katie is listed as the senior communications advisor for Truth Social and Trump Media and Technology Group. 

For more, like The Tab on Facebook. Featured image via Matt Kaminsky/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock.