WASHINGTON, Oct 16 — New White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia acknowledged today that she had failed the bar exam, a prerequisite for practicing law in the United States, as her credentials face scrutiny.

Zacharia has described herself as a lawyer during television appearances and on social media, and listed herself as general counsel of a California-based conservative nonprofit.

But the legal credentials of the press secretary, who President Donald Trump appointed last week, were called into question after she gave an inconclusive answer about where she had passed the bar exam.

The 41-year-old graduated from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011, but obtaining a law degree does not automatically qualify someone to practice law.