Karoline Leavitt's time at the White House microphone has an end date. President Trump revealed on Wednesday that his press secretary will exit her post once the month wraps up, a shakeup that hits the president's communications team with the midterm elections fewer than three months away.
Family Weighed Heaviest in the Decision
Trump shared the news himself in a Truth Social post, calling Leavitt one of his most trusted aides and explaining that she wants more room in her schedule for her two young children — a decision I totally understand and respect, he wrote. Trump added that Leavitt, 28, will step into an outside advisory role and become a louder Republican voice as the party fights to hold its congressional majorities this November.
Leavitt laid out her own reasoning in a lengthy post on X. Since coming back from leave after her daughter's birth, she wrote, she had come to feel that she cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while also carrying the full demands of the job — landing on what she called a bittersweet call to leave the West Wing behind.
Vice President JD Vance also posted his own tribute, describing Leavitt's post as one of the hardest jobs in the Administration and noting how taxing that kind of nonstop schedule can be for any young parent. White House communications director Steven Cheung struck a similar note, telling reporters the departure was "never goodbye, always see you down the road."
A Brief Return to the Lectern Before the Exit
Leavitt had only just come back to briefings on July 16, having stepped away around the time her daughter Viviana arrived on May 1. She's also raising a two-year-old son, and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, works in real estate development. Reporters saw far fewer briefings during her leave, with Cabinet-level fill-ins — Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio among them — occasionally taking her spot at the podium, appearances CNN characterized as landing with mixed success.
Who Takes Over the Podium Is Still an Open Question
Trump hadn't named a replacement as of Wednesday, and even some White House staffers reportedly learned of the timing without much advance warning. One name in circulation is Anna Kelly, the principal deputy press secretary who has taken on a growing role in foreign policy messaging and has been a frequent presence on cable and radio.
A second name floated in early coverage was Alina Habba. Habba is a longtime Trump legal spokeswoman and former White House counselor who now works as a senior adviser to Attorney General Pam Bondi. Prediction-market bettors on Kalshi have made her one of the favored picks for Leavitt's old job.
A third name that surfaced, Harrison Fields. Fields isn't a current White House staffer who could be "promoted from within." He left the administration in August 2025 for a lobbying job and, on Wednesday, praised Leavitt from the outside as a former colleague rather than a sitting deputy.
From a New Hampshire Campaign Trail to the West Wing
Leavitt's connection to Trump goes back to a junior communications role during his first term. That job carried her through to the end of the administration in January 2021, after which she spent roughly a year as communications director for New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik before launching her own campaign for New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District in 2022 — a bid she lost to incumbent Democrat Chris Pappas. From there she took a messaging role with the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc., which led into a spot on the 2024 campaign's press team. When Trump returned to office in January 2025, he named her press secretary at 27, making her the youngest person ever to hold the job — and the first press secretary to serve while pregnant.
Behind the podium, Leavitt built a reputation for pushing back hard on reporters and standing firmly behind the administration's line, including its disputed claims about the 2020 election. Her roughly year-and-a-half run puts her second on the list of longest-serving Trump press secretaries, trailing only Sarah Huckabee Sanders, now Arkansas's governor, whose own stretch in the role ran just short of two years during Trump's first term.
Leaving During a Bruising Political Stretch
The change lands as the administration works through a difficult patch: approval numbers sitting near record lows for Trump's presidency, an unresolved conflict tied to Iran still dragging on public opinion, gas prices squeezing household budgets, and recent polling showing most Americans don't think the president is focused on the issues that matter most to them.
