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Leavitt steps down
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will leave her role at the end of the month, President Donald Trump announced in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, saying she would step down to spend more time with her family.
“She will leave her role at the end of August”
Trump said Leavitt would become one of his “top outside advisors” and an “influential voice within the Republican Party” as the administration works to “conclusively win the Midterm Elections” in November.
Leavitt, 28, confirmed her departure in a social media post, describing the job as “the honor and adventure of a lifetime,” and saying she could not be the best mom her two young children deserve while devoting the “constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary.”
Multiple outlets reported that Leavitt returned to the White House podium after maternity leave, with NBC News saying she returned on July 16 and ABC News saying she held her first briefing after returning from maternity leave less than a month earlier.
Family and party role
Leavitt’s departure was framed by Trump as a decision he “totally understand[s] and respect[s],” with the president adding that she would remain in his orbit as an outside adviser.
In her own statement, Leavitt wrote, “the honor and adventure of a lifetime,” and said that after the birth of her daughter she felt she “cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve.”
ABC News reported that Leavitt became the youngest White House press secretary in history when she assumed the position last year at 27 years old, while AP News said she will leave at the end of the month and that Trump did not outline plans for who might replace her.
AP News also reported that Leavitt recently returned to the White House podium after the birth of her second child, a daughter named Viviana, in May, and that she has a 2-year-old son.
Who fills the gap
While Trump and Leavitt did not name a successor, NBC News said that during Leavitt’s maternity leave the White House did not name an interim press secretary and instead had various administration officials brief the news media.
“During her maternity leave, the White House did not name an interim press secretary”
NBC News listed those officials as including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and it said Leavitt returned to the podium from maternity leave on July 16.
The Hill reported that Leavitt pledged to always be an advocate for MAGA and the Republican Party, writing that “Our country is facing an existential threat from an increasingly extremist Democrat Party” and that her “fight is entering a new phase.”
NPR reported that it is not yet clear who will replace Leavitt, and it said her departure comes as the president and his party are struggling with voters who disapprove of his handling of the economy and high prices amid the Iran war.
