The impending departure of Karoline Leavitt from her post as White House Press Secretary has triggered a wave of widespread speculation inside and outside Washington over who will step into one of the most high-profile and high-stakes roles in U.S. politics. As of this reporting, no official nomination has been made public by the White House, and anonymous administration sources confirm that no final decision has been locked in, leaving the door open to a wide pool of potential candidates.
Leavitt, a close and trusted advisor who has worked alongside former President and current President Donald Trump for years, leaves behind big shoes to fill. In his public announcement of her upcoming departure at the end of the month, Trump highlighted Leavitt as one of his most trusted aides, underscoring just how difficult the search for a replacement could prove.
Earlier this year, when Leavitt stepped away for a temporary leave, the White House adopted an unusual arrangement where top senior administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stepped in to deliver press briefings instead of tapping an in-house temporary replacement. Many political observers expect the administration could revert to this ad-hoc system for at least a short transition period after Leavitt exits.
However, the role of White House Press Secretary extends far beyond standing at the briefing room podium to deliver daily statements. A successful press secretary must navigate tense, often contentious relationships with the national press corps, coordinate communication strategy across all branches of the White House, provide trusted media guidance directly to the president, and oversee a small team that manages hundreds of daily press inquiries and information requests. Most critically, whoever takes the role must meet Trump’s exacting personal standards, a challenge that insiders say is far from simple.
“It’s not easy,” an anonymous source close to the administration told the BBC. “That person will be very aware that he’s watching every day.”
Political analysts have already identified a shortlist of prominent potential candidates with deep ties to Trump and the Republican Party, each bringing unique experience to the table.
Leading the list of contenders is Alina Habba, a long-time Trump ally who previously served as his personal lawyer. Last year, Trump tapped Habba to serve as the top federal prosecutor for New Jersey, but her nomination was ultimately blocked by a federal court ruling on her eligibility. She temporarily served in the role in an acting capacity, and in the first months of Trump’s second term, she has held a post as presidential counselor. Trump has repeatedly praised Habba as unwaveringly loyal and a tireless advocate for his policy and political agenda. Habba first joined Trump’s personal legal team in 2021 after meeting Trump at his New Jersey golf club, and she led his legal team during his high-profile 2024 hush-money trial in New York, where Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records; an appeal of that conviction is currently ongoing.
Another top contender is Katie Miller, a 34-year-old conservative media personality and former Trump White House staffer. Miller is married to Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff and the architect of Trump’s hard-line immigration policy. She previously served as press secretary and later communications director for former Vice President Mike Pence during the first Trump administration, and later held the role of communications director for the Department of Government Efficiency—colloquially known as DOGE, the cost-cutting government reform initiative led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. Last year, Miller launched her own podcast targeted at conservative women and working mothers, which has built a sizable audience among Republican voters.
Current White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly is also considered an internal candidate for the promotion. At 29, the former beauty queen has already served as a primary on-the-record representative for the administration to the press, and previously held roles as national press secretary for the Republican National Committee and communications staff for Wisconsin Congressman Derrick Van Orden.
Former ESPN sportscaster Sage Steele has also been named as a potential candidate. Steele, 53, who rose to prominence hosting iconic shows like SportsCenter and First Take, became a vocal campaign surrogate for Trump during the 2024 presidential election and has since emerged as a prominent conservative media figure and consistent supporter of the president’s agenda.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, a long-time Trump advisor, is also viewed as a possible candidate. Cheung built a reputation for his combative approach to press interactions and unflinching defense of the president, first joining Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign before serving as director of rapid response during the first Trump term. He left the White House in 2018 to launch a private consulting firm that supported Trump’s 2020 campaign, and previously led communications for the Ultimate Fighting Championship before joining the Trump team. Shortly after Leavitt’s departure was announced, Cheung posted a public tribute praising his departing colleague, calling her the best teammate, fiercely loyal, unflappable, and an honorable public servant.
Former Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Kenzie McLaughlin is another contender with deep first-term Trump administration experience. McLaughlin became known for her aggressive defense of the first Trump administration’s immigration policies on cable news, and held multiple roles across the Treasury Department and State Department during Trump’s first term. She stepped down from her current role in February and has kept a relatively low profile since, but previously served as communications director for Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and for Vivek Ramaswamy’s 2024 Republican presidential primary campaign, and has worked as a political contributor for ABC News.
Rounding out the list of potential candidates is conservative political commentator Scott Jennings, a senior political contributor at CNN who has become one of the most visible defenders of the Trump administration on mainstream cable news. Once a public critic of Trump, the 48-year-old Jennings has decades of political campaign experience, having worked on four presidential campaigns and three successful re-election campaigns for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, of whom he is considered a close ally. Trump has publicly praised Jennings multiple times for his consistent defense on CNN, noting in a Michigan rally last year that “He’s defending me all the time on CNN, and he defends me really well, but he can’t go too far because if he goes too far, he’ll get fired.” Jennings last year published a pro-Trump book titled *A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization*.