White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will leave the post at the end of the month “to spend more time with her beautiful children and her family, a decision I absolutely understand and respect,” President Donald Trump announced on his social platform Truth. Leavitt has two children: in May 2026 she gave birth to a daughter, Vivian.
Trump had four press secretaries during his first term. Leavitt was appointed at the start of his second, on January 20, 2025. She will now, Trump writes, be “one of my principal external advisers” and an “influential voice in the Republican Party.” Trump adds that Leavitt “was a true leader in the White House,” where she did “a phenomenal job.”
The farewell post
“Serving as White House press secretary over the last year and a half has been the honor and adventure of a lifetime. I am immensely grateful to President Trump for giving me so many extraordinary opportunities, such as working in the West Wing and spending countless hours in the Oval Office, flying around the world and meeting foreign leaders, and traveling across our beautiful country meeting Americans from all walks of life. Above all, I am grateful to the President for entrusting me with the unique privilege of speaking on his behalf from the White House podium. I have spoken with great pride about the many historic successes of this Administration, I have taken pleasure in holding the liberal media accountable for their statements, and in ensuring that the American people heard the truth about President Trump’s accomplishments,” Leavitt says.
“Being a mother and having a child while working in one of the most demanding jobs in the world has been the most rewarding but also the most challenging time of my life, to put it mildly. The truth is that since I returned to the White House after my daughter was born, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mother my two small children deserve while also giving the constant time, energy and attention required by the role of White House press secretary: that is why I ultimately made the bittersweet decision to leave the White House and begin a new chapter in my life,” Leavitt explains.
“President Trump has asked me to continue serving him as a principal adviser from the outside, and I will always remain a staunch supporter of the MAGA movement and the Republican Party. Our country faces an existential threat from an increasingly extreme Democratic Party that seeks to destroy all that is great in America; I believe it is up to all of us who care about this country to fight that threat. My fight is entering a new phase, but it is far from over,” she continues.
“Thank you again to the President, the First Lady and the entire Trump family for your kindness and generosity over the years. Thanks to our extraordinary Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for empowering me from the day she hired me on the campaign, and to the President’s cabinet, to my staff, my colleagues and friends at the White House who work so hard for our nation. It has been a privilege to serve alongside so many remarkable people. I look forward to enthusiastically supporting them over the next two and a half years. And of course, above all, thank you to my loving and supportive husband and to my family for the sacrifices they made to allow me to serve in this role,” she concludes.