Trump’s 28-year-old press secretary is stepping away from the high-profile role to spend more time with her young family, but will remain an adviser to the president.
WASHINGTON: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will leave her position at the end of August, President Donald Trump has announced, bringing an unexpected change to the administration’s communications team.
Trump said Leavitt, 28, decided to step away to spend more time with her young children. He praised her as one of his most trusted aides and said she would continue advising him from outside the White House while remaining active in the Republican Party.
Leavitt confirmed the decision, describing her time as press secretary as the “honor and adventure of a lifetime.” She recently returned from maternity leave after giving birth to her second child in May. She and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, also have a two-year-old son.
Leavitt said the demands of the press secretary’s job made it difficult to give her children the time and attention she believed they needed.
She became the youngest person ever to serve as White House press secretary when she took the position last year. During her tenure, she emerged as one of the Trump administration’s most visible defenders, regularly confronting journalists and forcefully promoting the president’s policies.
Her tenure was also marked by changes in the White House’s relationship with the media. The administration expanded access for selected outlets and temporarily restricted the Associated Press from certain events during a dispute over the terminology used for the Gulf of Mexico.
Before becoming press secretary, Leavitt worked in Trump’s first administration and later served as communications director for Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik. She also ran unsuccessfully for Congress in New Hampshire in 2022 before joining Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign as national press secretary.
The White House has not yet announced her replacement. During her maternity leave, senior officials including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum took turns addressing reporters.
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