NEW YORK (AP) — The new White House press secretary is facing mounting questions about her background and resume as she transitions into her role as the public face of the Trump administration.
Katie Zacharia has long described herself as a lawyer as she has worked to establish herself as a commentator for conservative outlets like Fox News and Newsmax. But so far, she and the White House have offered no evidence that she passed the bar exam in any state or in China, where she worked for a large law firm years ago.
The questions add to the confusion surrounding President Donald Trump's decision to hire Zacharia, who had worked for his social media company for only a few months when he announced her appointment and whose debut at the podium on Tuesday has been widely panned.
Afterward, the president was asked by reporters where Zacharia had passed the bar exam, following a report by the independent outlet Popular Information that she did not appear to be licensed in any state.
Trump stepped aside to allow Zacharia to answer.
“When I moved to China," she responded over the sound of Marine One whirring in the background. It is not clear what she had intended to say or whether she had finished the sentence.
China’s notoriously difficult National Unified Legal Professional Qualification Examination can only be taken by Chinese citizens.
Asked what credentials she held, the White House passed along a statement from Zacharia, who received a bachelor of arts degree from Pepperdine University in 2007 and received her law degree from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in 2011, according to the school and her LinkedIn bio.
“I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials," it read.
Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, added that Zacharia was "uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people about all the great things President Trump and his Administration have been doing, and she will do an incredible job as press secretary.”
According to her LinkedIn profile, Zacharia has been the senior communications adviser at the Trump Media & Technology Group since June and spent two months as deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year.
From 2011 to 2013, it says, she served as an associate on the International Practice Team at the Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing. She also worked as the manager of fundraising and communications for Compassion for Migrant Children, which assists the children of migrant workers, from 2012 to 2013.
More recently, it says she served as general counsel for Fix California, a group started by Trump administration official Richard Grenell.
Neither the firm nor the two groups responded to questions about her tenure and background.
Zacharia has long called herself a lawyer. On Instagram, she describes herself as the White House press secretary, “Wife, Mom, & Lawyer” (with three heart emojis after “Mom”).
And her official author page at the California Globe, where she wrote occasional commentary, says that, in addition to being a “regular commentator on Fox News, Newsmax," she has “extensive experience in political advocacy, international corporate law, and non-profit work, including time as outside counsel for the World Bank and IFC in Beijing.”
A June 2026 press release from NovaRed Mining Inc. announcing her appointment to the company’s advisory board, which was first reported by Popular Information, said her "professional experience includes work related to international legal and financial transactions, including matters involving organizations associated with the World Bank Group and the International Finance Corporation during her tenure with Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing.”
In announcing her hire on his social media site, Trump described Zacharia as "a distinguished Graduate of Pepperdine University, and the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, an attorney, and a frequent Commentator on outlets, including Fox News and Newsmax."
“She has an unblemished record of support, and has been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning. She is, likewise, a devoted fan and member of MAGA!” he added.
Zacharia is not listed as a member of the state bar in California, where she currently resides, according to a public database.
Rick Coca, a spokesperson for the State Bar of California, a regulatory agency that oversees state licensing, said in a statement that they have “no record of Kate Sharon Zacharia or Kate Sharon Black" or any version of her married or maiden names "having been licensed to practice law in California.”
Popular Information said the same was the case in all 50 states they had queried, plus Washington, D.C.
In response, the watchdog group Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint Wednesday with the State Bar of California asking them to investigate whether Zacharia misrepresented herself as a lawyer in violation of California law.
"In California, calling yourself a lawyer without a license isn’t puffery; it’s a crime. The State Bar should investigate whether Ms. Zacharia has misled the public about her credentials and hold her accountable if she has,” said CfA Executive Director Michelle Kuppersmith in a statement.
The State Bar said they could not confirm whether they had received the complaint or were conducting an investigation, citing confidentiality laws.
President Donald Trump speaks to the reporters as he walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington, as White House press secretary Katie Zacharia looks on. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia walks out to speak with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
HOUSTON (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer appeared to intentionally drive a vehicle into a Mexican construction worker in Houston then fled the scene, a prosecutor said Wednesday, rejecting the agency’s claim the man stepped in front of the vehicle while running from authorities.
A family member of Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, also disputed the identity of a man who ICE says was with him and had been the target of Saturday’s operation, saying they had never seen or heard of that person before.
Both called into question the details provided by ICE surrounding the encounter that has added fuel to fiery criticism of immigration enforcement operations in Houston, where local prosecutors are already investigating a July fatal shooting by a federal immigration officer.
Surveillance footage shows a black SUV speeding over a median and driving toward a man who is running away. The video does not show the car hitting him — that view is blocked by another vehicle — but it shows the SUV inches from the fleeing man. The video then shows him on the ground.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, a Democrat, told The Associated Press the video clearly shows Mr. Parra running away from the unmarked vehicle driven by an ICE officer. The agency has claimed Parra Hernandez ran in front of it.
“That vehicle jumped a median, drove into a parking lot and drove directly at and then over Mr. Parra,” Teare said.
Parra Hernandez underwent surgery for a broken leg later Saturday and also needs surgery on his ankle, his lawyer, Kim Bruno, said during a news conference Wednesday. He remains in ICE custody in the hospital, she said.
Teare said ICE already had two detainees in the SUV — a Jeep Cherokee — when it ran over Parra Hernandez, and his office will get statements from both of them before making a charging decision, likely next week.
His office spoke with Parra Hernandez on Tuesday in the hospital.
“What I’ve seen so far indicates to me that this agent intentionally struck this person and ran him over,” Teare said.
After Parra Hernandez was hit, the Harris County Sheriff's office and the Harris County District Attorney's office went to the scene with a tow truck to impound the ICE vehicle and download crash data, Teare said.
But the same ICE officer who drove the vehicle into Parra Hernandez had fled the scene in the SUV, thus keeping the vehicle in ICE's possession, Teare said. Driving a vehicle that has been involved in a collision writes over or erases the data recorded by the vehicle, he said.
“Any law enforcement officer knows those facts. ICE, either intentionally or through gross negligence, destroyed potential evidence in this case,” Teare said.
Teare said his office is evaluating several possible charges to bring against the ICE officer, including assault with a deadly weapon.
Allegations that officers intentionally struck Parra Hernandez are “reckless” and “false,” ICE said in a statement. Parra Hernandez had been in a vehicle with the target of an enforcement operation, and when officers tried to stop the car, the two men fled on foot, the agency said.
He “ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck,” ICE said.
Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL Houston, an immigrant rights organization, flatly denied this claim during a news conference Wednesday, citing the surveillance video.
Attorneys and relatives of others who were arrested by ICE during the operation Saturday denied during the news conference that the man ICE named as the target of its operation — Jose Mendoza-Cervantes — was even in the white van, saying they didn’t know anyone of that name.
Espinosa said Parra Hernandez comes from Mexico and has been in the U.S. for 34 years. He declined to share Parra Hernandez’s status, but said he is living in the U.S. without authorization.
He said two ICE officers were in the room when he visited Parra Hernandez at the hospital.
Teare said ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have not cooperated with his office during its investigation.
In July, Teare said DHS also ignored his request for information after an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. The shooting was one of at least 10 deaths involving encounters with immigration officers since the start of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
Wilder is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Attorney Kim Bruno speaks about an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action involving Miguel Parra Hernandez, during a news conference, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, in Houston. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Cesar Espinosa of FIEL speaks during a news conference about an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action involving Miguel Parra Hernandez, during a news conference, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, in Houston. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Rodolfo Parra, brother of Miguel Parra-Hernandez, speaks to the media Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, alongside Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL, near the scene on Clay Road near Texas 6 in Houston where Parra-Hernandez was struck by ICE agents after running from an SUV pursuing another man. (Jill Karnicki/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Harris County Sheriff deputies work the scene after a man was struck by an ICE agent's vehicle during an immigration enforcement in northwest Houston, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. 9Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Sarah Fischer, a local artist who collaborates with Fiel to provide emergency portraiture, holds her artwork of Miguel Parra-Hernandez, during a press conference Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, near the scene on Clay Road near Texas 6 in Houston where Parra-Hernandez was struck by ICE agents after running from an SUV pursuing another man. (Jill Karnicki/Houston Chronicle via AP)
People watch as Harris County Sheriff deputies work the scene near two vehicles involved after a man was struck by an ICE agent's vehicle during an immigration enforcement operation in northwest Houston, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. 9Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)
