White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt held what was expected to be her final gaggle outside the West Wing on Thursday, her last day on the job before departing the role.
“I’ll miss you guys. I know that’s probably not something anyone would expect me to say, but obviously it’s been great working with all of you,” said Leavitt, who has earned President Donald Trump’s approval as both a hard-charging spokeswoman on the podium and an official who has often had positive working relationships with reporters behind the scenes.
Leavitt, 29 — and who at 27 became the youngest White House press secretary — is stepping down to spend more time with her family. It’s a decision she said she made after taking a two-month maternity leave this spring following the birth of her second child in May. Her first child was born days before then-candidate Trump was shot during a campaign rally in July 2024, and Leavitt returned to work on the campaign immediately following the incident.
“Every day as a working mother is a challenge,” Leavitt told NewsNation on Thursday before speaking with reporters at the White House. She said motherhood has required her to “make sacrifices” and “say no to a lot of opportunities that come your way because you want to be there for bedtime with your kids every night.”
Leavitt will become an outside adviser to Trump through his MAGA Inc. super PAC, where she served as spokeswoman before moving over to Trump’s 2024 campaign.
Trump has yet to decide who will take Leavitt’s role, while advisers to the president have signaled that a replacement may not be named immediately. Cabinet members and other top officials are expected to hold briefings until then, as was the case during Leavitt’s maternity leave, when Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were among those who took the podium.
Leavitt said Thursday that there’s a “list” of potential successors and that she will help and offer advice to whomever Trump ultimately chooses.
Her main piece of advice?
“I think it’s most important in this job to understand that President Trump is his own best spokesperson,” she said. Trump, she and his other communications advisers have joked, “is the true communications director and press secretary here at the White House.”
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