White House press secretary Katie Zacharia did not pass the bar exam in the United States, two individuals with direct knowledge of the matter told ABC News.

Zacharia, who recently held her first White House press briefing, has referred to herself as a lawyer, and President Donald Trump described her as an attorney in a social media post announcing her role.

Scrutiny over her legal credentials emerged after reports questioned whether she was licensed to practice law. A Wall Street Journal report indicated that Zacharia took the bar exam in 2011 but did not pass. In an interview with Real America’s Voice on Thursday, Zacharia confirmed she took the bar exam after earning her law degree from Pepperdine University in 2011, but she did not explicitly state whether she passed.

Zacharia explained that the bar exam results were "somewhat inconsequential" because she intended to move to China, where she would work in international transaction law. She stated, "I knew I wouldn't need the bar in China, and -- and we left shortly thereafter." After moving to China, she added, she did not "really think much of the bar results or consider that something that I needed to focus on," as she was offered a position in the international practice division of a Chinese law firm.

Zacharia took the California bar exam following her graduation from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, but she did not pass, the sources with direct knowledge confirmed. The White House has not responded to requests for comment from the press secretary's office regarding whether Zacharia passed the bar exam.

She also noted that she consulted with legal professionals regarding how she could refer to herself. Zacharia stated that she asked if it was acceptable to label herself as a "lawyer" and provide "legal analysis" rather than acting as an "attorney at law" offering "legal advice."

According to Zacharia, these consultations led her to believe it was acceptable. "They said 'absolutely, absolutely,' across the board," she recounted. She was advised that with a Juris Doctor (JD) and international legal experience in transactional law, she had the "ability to analyze it, not necessarily give advice."

Zacharia further emphasized that she has been careful in her self-representation, asserting that she "never presented herself as a practicing attorney" nor "came across as someone who was an attorney at law."