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Trump’s New Press Sec Faces Scrutiny Over Lawyer Claims, Anti-Abortion Views

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14.10.2026

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Following White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia’s first appearance before the media on Tuesday, numerous aspects of her background have come to light — including her staunch anti-abortion views and that she may have lied about her résumé.

Zacharia has claimed she is a lawyer, noting that she graduated from law school at Pepperdine University. However, no record of her passing a bar exam in any state exists, which is generally a requirement before a person can practice law. In states without that requirement, would-be lawyers usually have to submit an application to the state’s bar association, but there is no record of her applying in those jurisdictions either.

Asked by reporters this week where she passed the bar exam, Zacharia responded, “When I moved to China.” But critics have pointed out that a person cannot take a state bar exam while outside of the U.S.

White House press secretaries are not required to have an educational degree, let alone be a lawyer. However, the fact that Zacharia has possibly misled others about her personal history raises the question of whether she can be forthright or honest in her new role.

Perhaps more concerning are Zacharia’s views on reproductive rights. From November 2023 to February 2026, she served on the board of advisors for an organization called “White Rose Resistance,” an anti-abortion group that stole its name from a Nazi Germany-era resistance group that had nothing to do with the issue.

Republican........

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