White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will leave her post at the end of August, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday, in a shake-up of the president’s press operation less than three months before the midterm elections.
Trump said in a Truth Social post that Leavitt, one of his “most trusted aides,” was departing “so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect.” He said she would become one of his “top outside advisors” and “an influential voice” within the Republican Party as it works to defend its majorities in November.
Leavitt, 28, confirmed her departure in a post on X, calling it a “bittersweet decision.” She said that since the birth of her second child in May, she had concluded she could not fully balance motherhood with the demands of the role.
She became the youngest White House press secretary in history when Trump named her to the post at the start of his second term in January 2025, and is one of only eight women to have held the job. She returned to the briefing room last month following a brief maternity leave after the May 1 birth of her daughter, Viviana.
During her tenure, Leavitt built a reputation as an aggressive defender of the administration, fielding questions on issues including the Signal messaging controversy, the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, and the war with Iran.
Neither Trump nor Leavitt indicated who might succeed her. Her departure comes as the administration navigates low approval ratings, an ongoing conflict with Iran and elevated gasoline prices heading into the midterms.
