Karoline Leavitt to leave White House press secretary post

Karoline Leavitt, the youngest person to serve as White House press secretary, will leave the job at the end of August and become an outside adviser to President Donald Trump, the president announced Wednesday.

Trump said on Truth Social that Leavitt, 28, is stepping down “so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family,” calling it “a decision I totally understand and respect.” Leavitt gave birth to her second child, a daughter, in May and returned from maternity leave last month. She also has a 2-year-old son.

“Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the Midterm Elections,” Trump wrote.

He described Leavitt as “one of my most trusted aides” and said she had been “a real leader in the White House.” In the same post, Trump wrote: “Karoline has been one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office. Thank you, Karoline, for a job well done!”

Leavitt confirmed her departure in a statement on X, writing that serving as press secretary had been “the honor and adventure of a lifetime.” She thanked Trump “for entrusting me with the distinct privilege of speaking on his behalf at the White House podium.”

“Being a mother and welcoming a new baby while working in one of the most demanding jobs in the world has been the most rewarding yet challenging season of my life, to say the least,” she wrote.

Leavitt said that after returning to the White House following the birth of her daughter, she concluded she could not balance the job’s demands with caring for her children.

“The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary — and that is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life,” she wrote.

She added, according to CBS News, that Trump had asked her to continue advising him from outside the administration and that she would “always remain a vocal advocate for MAGA and the Republican Party.”

It was not immediately clear who will replace Leavitt or who might fill the role on an interim basis.

Leavitt has served as press secretary since the start of Trump’s second term in January 2025. She was 27 when she took the job, making her the youngest White House press secretary in history. NBC News reported that she is one of only eight women to serve in the role and the first to have a baby while doing so.

Her work with Trump began during his first term, when she served as an assistant press secretary and speechwriter, according to the BBC. She later became communications director for Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, then ran for Congress in New Hampshire in 2022. Leavitt won a contested Republican primary but lost the general election to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who is now running for Senate in the state.

She later worked as a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump fundraising group, before becoming national press secretary for Trump’s 2024 campaign.