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

New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia has said she did not pass the bar exam, after facing scrutiny over her legal career.

Zacharia, who joined the White House on Monday, has previously said she practised law before entering politics. President Donald Trump had also described her as an attorney.

“You did not pass the bar exam, correct?” she was asked in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night.

“Correct,” Zacharia replied. Asked whether she ever took the exam a second time, she said: “I did not.”

She earned her law degree from Pepperdine University in 2011, according to the university. However, law graduates in the US cannot legally practise law without being admitted to a state bar.

Zacharia’s first press briefing on Tuesday lasted less than 15 minutes, during which she took questions from just three reporters. Her performance was criticised by some media commentators and political analysts, but Trump told reporters: “I thought she was very good.”

Asked about the briefing, Zacharia told Hannity: “What I feel is I really stepped up to the plate to do the press conference, Sean, with very little prep time.”