Karoline Leavitt is leaving her post as White House press secretary at the end of August, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, without naming a successor.
Leavitt, 28, became the youngest person to hold the role when appointed in November 2024 and has served since the inauguration in January 2025. She returned from maternity leave earlier this year following the birth of her second child in May.
What was said?
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Leavitt was stepping down to spend more time with her family and would become one of his top outside advisers ahead of the midterm elections.
Leavitt said she was thankful for what she called the distinct privilege of speaking on the president’s behalf. She is one of only eight women to have held the position.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Appointed | November 2024 |
| In post since | January 2025 |
| Departure | End of August 2026 |
| Age | 28, youngest ever |
| Successor | Not announced |
Why is Karoline Leavitt leaving the White House?
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will leave the administration at the end of August 2026, President Donald Trump announced on 12 August 2026 in a post on Truth Social. Leavitt, aged 28, said she was stepping down to spend more time with her family following the birth of her second child in May 2026. She became the youngest White House press secretary in history on her appointment in November 2024 and held the post from the start of Trump’s second term in January 2025, a tenure of one year and seven months. No successor was named at the time of the announcement. Trump said Leavitt would become one of his senior outside advisers ahead of the midterm elections. She is the fifth woman in a senior position to leave the administration during 2026, following Pam Bondi, Kristi Noem, Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Tulsi Gabbard, all four of whom were replaced by men.
Who might replace her?
No successor has been announced. The Hill reported that Anna Kelly, the principal deputy press secretary, is regarded as the natural candidate.
Other names in circulation include White House communications director Steven Cheung, Breitbart Washington bureau chief Matthew Boyle, and Katie Miller. During Leavitt’s maternity leave the White House named no interim press secretary, instead rotating officials through the podium, among them Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
What is the wider pattern?
Leavitt is the fifth woman in a senior administration role to depart this year, after Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. All four were replaced by men.
Her tenure of one year and seven months is longer than most in Trump’s first term, when four people held the post across four years.
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Sources for this report
The Redline News Desk
The Redline News desk files and edits world reporting. Every story carries the sources it was built from, and corrections are published on the story itself.
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