Karoline Leavitt, the 28-year-old who holds the record as the youngest White House press secretary in history, will step down from her position by the end of August to focus on raising her two young children, President Donald Trump revealed on August 12, 2026.
The president said Leavitt would transition to serve as a senior advisor outside the White House, helping him steer Republicans through the upcoming midterm contests. Leavitt took up the press secretary post when Trump began his second term in January 2025.
From Congressional Candidate to White House Podium
Leavitt’s path to the White House briefing room wound through multiple corners of Trump’s political universe. She initially worked in the press office during Trump’s first presidency, then moved to become communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik. She ran for Congress in New Hampshire in 2022, winning her party’s primary but losing the general election to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. She later joined MAGA Inc., a fundraising organization supporting Trump, as a spokesperson before becoming national press secretary for his 2024 campaign.
Balancing Two Toddlers and the Daily Briefing
Leavitt gave birth to a daughter, Viviana, on May 1, 2026, her second child. After resuming her duties at the briefing room podium on July 16, 2026, she quickly discovered the strain of caring for both a newborn and a two-year-old son while managing the unrelenting pace of the press secretary job. Her husband is Nicholas Riccio. The difficulty of dividing her attention between family and the demands of her West Wing role pushed her to resign, she said in a post on X.
In that same message, Leavitt called her choice “bittersweet.” She stressed that she would continue championing the MAGA movement and the Republican Party as an outside advisor. “My fight is entering a new phase, but it is far from over,” she added.
President Hails Her Loyalty and Effectiveness
Trump called Leavitt one of his most trusted aides and endorsed her decision to shift roles. In a post on Truth Social, he said she would become one of his top outside advisors and help propel the party to victory in the midterm elections. “Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party,” Trump wrote.
Conservative commentator and Fox host Riley Gaines applauded Leavitt’s work at the podium. “Karoline Leavitt is so good at her job,” Gaines wrote.
Combative Tenure With the Press Corps
During her time as press secretary, Leavitt adopted an adversarial posture toward mainstream journalists. In February 2025, her office seized control of organizing the White House press pool from the White House Correspondents’ Association and temporarily barred the Associated Press from briefings after the wire service declined to use the term “Gulf of America” in its reporting. Allies praised her for unwavering message discipline and forceful defense of the administration under tough questioning.
Second-Longest Serving Across Trump Administrations
Leavitt will depart having served the second-longest tenure as press secretary during Trump’s two administrations, behind only Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who held the role during the first administration. Trump went through four press secretaries between January 2017 and January 2021, making Leavitt the fifth spokesperson to hold the title across his two presidencies.
Trump had not named a replacement as of August 12, 2026, and it was not clear who would take over briefing duties when Leavitt steps down at the end of the month. In her X post, she said the experience had been “the honor and adventure of a lifetime,” and vowed to remain active in public life.