U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that 28-year-old White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the youngest person to ever hold the top presidential spokesperson role in American history, will depart her post at the end of this month. In a social media statement confirming the move, Trump confirmed that Leavitt will transition to a new position as one of his top senior outside advisors, and highlighted her ongoing influence within the Republican Party. The announcement comes just weeks after Leavitt returned to her White House duties following the birth of her second child, and comes amid sinking approval ratings for Trump and growing concerns that the Republican Party could lose control of Congress in the upcoming November midterm elections.
Widely known for her sharp, often confrontational retorts to journalists during daily press briefings, Leavitt has built a reputation as one of Trump’s most fiercely loyal allies. Over her tenure in the press secretary role, she delivered sharp, quick-witted and unapologetically aggressive performances during the regular, often combative briefings that she revived after the practice faded during Trump’s first presidential term between 2017 and 2021.
Leavitt explained her decision to step down in a concurrent social media post, noting that after returning to work following her daughter Viviana’s birth in May, she realized she could not meet the intense demands of the press secretary role while also being the attentive parent her two young children need. Trump echoed that framing in his announcement, saying Leavitt was leaving her current role to prioritize more time with her young family.
Leavitt’s personal connection to the Trump movement stretches back nearly a decade. A veteran of Trump’s first White House term, she served as a junior member of the press office before his 2021 departure, then stepped into the role as national spokesperson for his 2024 presidential re-election campaign. She earned Trump’s public praise for her unflinching, steely performances in cable news interviews during that campaign, which helped cement her status as a rising star in pro-Trump conservative circles.
During her time as press secretary, Leavitt oversaw a fundamental shift in how the White House interacts with the national press corps. In February 2025, she drew widespread shock and criticism from journalists when she announced the White House would take over control of selecting which reporters receive access to close-up coverage of Trump, including in the Oval Office and on Air Force One — a responsibility that had previously been held by the independent White House Correspondents’ Association. She also oversaw a major shift in press credentialing, approving access for dozens of right-wing, pro-Trump outlet while reducing the presence of traditional mainstream news organizations that regularly ask critical questions of the administration in press briefings.
The move to delay Leavitt’s maternity earlier this year came amid extraordinary circumstances. Just days before Viviana’s scheduled birth in May, an assailant attempted to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in an alleged assassination attempt targeting Trump. Leavitt chose to delay her leave to manage the administration’s response to the incident before stepping away for maternity leave.
Before her rise to national politics, Leavitt grew up in New Hampshire, where her family owned and operated a local ice cream shop. She first emerged as a public pro-Trump voice in 2017, when she wrote a letter to her university campus newspaper protesting a professor who had publicly criticized Trump during a lecture. After Trump’s 2020 re-election defeat, she launched an unsuccessful bid for a U.S. House seat in New Hampshire in 2022, running on a staunchly pro-Trump, pro-gun platform.
Leavitt made clear Wednesday that her exit from the press secretary role does not mark the end of her political work. “My fight is entering a new phase, but it is far from over,” she wrote, adding that she believes “our country is facing an existential threat from an increasingly extremist Democrat Party that seeks to destroy everything great about America.” In her statement, she also expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve as press secretary, noting she was proud of her work holding what she called “the liberal media” accountable and sharing what she frames as the truth of the Trump administration’s policy successes with the American public.