Karoline Leavitt has called dibs on one of the largest offices in the White House after it was vacated by one of Trump’s top aides.
Taylor Budowich, one of Trump’s deputy chiefs of staff, announced he was leaving the administration this week after years of running communications and writing speeches for both the president and JD Vance.
Press secretary Leavitt wasted no time in claiming the roomy space as she angles for a more powerful and prominent role in the administration.
The office has been used by previous press secretaries, including during the first Trump White House.
Located right down the hall from the Oval Office, the press secretary’s office is one of the largest rooms in the White House. It is considered one of the jewels of West Wing real estate, where the size of the office and proximity to the president are regarded as major status symbols, CBS reported.
The room was claimed by Budowich during the first few months of Trump 2.0, with Leavitt and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung instead relegated to much smaller offices nearby.
But without a direct replacement for Budovich in sight, the upgrade appears to be a vote of confidence in Leavitt, who has impressed the administration during its first few months in office and is set to inherit some of Budovich’s duties.
At 28, Leavitt is the youngest person to serve as press secretary, having caught Trump’s eye after working in the White House press office during his first term and serving as his campaign press secretary during the 2024 election campaign.
Under her tenure, the White House has adopted a trollish, mean-spirited tone to its communications, responding to requests for comment with memes, profanities, and accusing reporters of suffering from ‘Trump-Derangement Syndrome.’
Budowich, meanwhile, is the latest in a series of high-profile staffers to quit the administration, joining Principal Deputy Communications Director Alex Pfeiffer and disgraced ‘Signalgate’ adviser Mike Waltz.
Outside the West Wing, Department of Justice Chief of Staff and close Stephen Miller ally Chad Mizelle also departed from his role, opening up a broader power struggle within the administration that has been brewing since Elon Musk was removed from his position as the head of DOGE earlier this year.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for further comment.
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