Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 23: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt takes questions from reporters during a news briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on July 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. Leavitt took questions from the media amid recent escalations in the war with Iran as global oil prices topped $100.00 a barrel for the first time since May. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Wednesday that she will be leaving the administration at the end of the month to spend more time with her family. Leavitt is the youngest press secretary in history and developed a reputation as a passionate defender of President Trump’s agenda while also holding the media accountable for inaccurate or misleading reporting.
“Serving as the White House Press Secretary over the past year and a half has been the honor and adventure of a lifetime,” Leavitt said in an X post. “I am incredibly grateful to President Trump for granting me so many extraordinary opportunities.”
Serving as the White House Press Secretary over the past year and a half has been the honor and adventure of a lifetime. I am incredibly grateful to President Trump for granting me so many extraordinary opportunities, such as working in the West Wing and spending countless hours Show more
We love you, @PressSec! ❤️
“Being a mother and welcoming a new baby while working in one of the most demanding jobs in the world has been the most rewarding yet challenging season of my life, to say the least,” Leavitt continued. “The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary — and that is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life.”
However, Leavitt says that she will remain involved in the conservative movement and continue serving as “top advisor” to President Trump outside the government.
Leavitt, who turns 29 later this month, recently gave birth to a daughter and also has a son, both with her husband, Nicholas Riccio. Prior to serving as White House Press Secretary, she served as a spokeswoman for MAGA Inc., Trump's super PAC, and as the press secretary for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. She also ran for Congress in her home state of New Hampshire in 2022, winning the Republican primary before falling in the general election.
Trump praised Leavitt in a Truth Social post and said he “totally understands and respects” her decision to depart the White House to spend more time with her husband and children.
“Karoline has been a real leader in the White House, and has done a phenomenal job fighting for Justice, Liberty, and Freedom,” Trump wrote. “Karoline has been one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office. Thank you, Karoline, for a job well done!”
Perhaps Leavitt’s most impactful contribution to the job was her addition of the “new media seat” to briefings. Historically, the prime seats in the White House Press Briefing Room are reserved for legacy and mainstream outlets, while new media voices like podcasters and journalists from alternative outlets are forced to cram into the side of the room – if they’re even allowed access to the White House complex at all. But Leavitt created a new media seat right next to the podium, allowing a rotation of new media voices to ask the first question at each briefing.
Leavitt notably extended that courtesy to AMAC Newsline earlier this year and fielded a question on President Trump’s midterm message to seniors. During a separate briefing, Leavitt also highlighted AMAC members who shared their feedback on how President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill had helped them keep more of their money this tax season.
Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill! @PressSec Karoline Leavitt responds to AMAC's Shane Harris (@ShaneHarris513) on the President's message to American seniors before the upcoming midterm elections.
As Leavitt departs the White House, the Trump administration will be losing one of its most effective communicators. But as she made clear in her departure post, this is not the last we will hear from her.
“Our country is facing an existential threat from an increasingly extremist Democrat Party that seeks to destroy everything great about America, and I believe it is incumbent upon all of us who care about this country to fight back against that threat,” she wrote. “My fight is entering a new phase, but it is far from over.”
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