Donald Trump has announced that his White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, will step down at the end of August. Leavitt, 28, was called by Trump as one of his “most trusted aides.” He said she has decided to leave the post to spend more time with her young children and that he understood and respected her choice.
In a social‑media post Trump added that Leavitt will now serve as a top outside advisor to his presidential and Republican Party endeavors, a role he believed would keep her voice influential.
Leavitt took the position last year, becoming the youngest person ever to be White House press secretary. Throughout her tenure she defended Trump at every briefing while at times stoking tensions with reporters who she accused of bias. She also controlled the White‑House press pool during a brief maternity leave, and was awarded praise from some supporters for staying “on message.”
In May, Leavitt welcomed a baby daughter with husband Nicholas Riccio, adding to her two‑year‑old son. She returned to the White House after her maternity leave and wrote on X that the job had been “the honor and adventure of a lifetime,” but feeling she could not be the best mother while also devoting the attention required by the presidency. She announced her resignation as a “bittersweet decision” in an interview after the announcement.
No replacement has been named, and the White House has not yet provided a replacement timeline. The decision will open the next chapter in Leavitt’s career as she moves from the inside front‑line of the Trump administration to a senior external role within the party.
