Karoline Leavitt to leave White House press secretary role at end of August
The 28-year-old says she is stepping away weeks after returning from maternity leave to spend more time with her young family.
Karoline Leavitt will leave her role as White House press secretary at the end of August, weeks after returning from maternity leave. The 28-year-old made history as the youngest person ever to hold the job and became one of President Donald Trump’s most visible spokespeople during his second term.
Her tenure included press access changes and repeated clashes over Trump’s racism claims.
Trump announced Leavitt’s departure on Wednesday, saying she wants to spend more time with her family after welcoming her second child, daughter Viviana, in May.
According to USA Today, Leavitt plans to step down at the end of the month. She returned to the White House in late June after maternity leave and held her first formal briefing back at the podium on July 16.
In a statement, Leavitt described the decision as “bittersweet” and said the demands of the job no longer fit with her desire to be fully present for her two young children.
“Serving as the White House Press Secretary over the past year and a half has been the honor and adventure of a lifetime,” Leavitt wrote. “I am incredibly grateful to President Trump for granting me so many extraordinary opportunities, such as working in the West Wing and spending countless hours in the Oval Office, flying around the world and meeting foreign leaders, and traveling across our beautiful country and meeting Americans from all walks of life.”
Her departure will not end her relationship with Trump. The president said Leavitt will remain one of his top outside advisers and continue to be an influential Republican voice. No successor has been announced.
Leavitt became the 36th White House press secretary when Trump returned to office in January 2025. At 27, she was the youngest person in U.S. history to take the position.
Her tenure reflected Trump’s combative relationship with the media. The White House changed how reporters were selected for the presidential press pool, while Leavitt regularly defended Trump against criticism involving immigration, race and other issues.
In February, TheGrio reported that Leavitt could not provide an example when asked to support Trump’s claim that he had been falsely accused of racism. In April, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called her a “stone-cold liar” after she blamed Democrats for the rhetoric surrounding the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting.