WASHINGTON—White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt , one of President Trump’s closest advisers, is stepping down at the end of the month.
Trump announced the move in a social-media post on Wednesday afternoon, saying Leavitt wanted to spend more time with her family.
“Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisers, and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the Midterm Elections,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Leavitt, who has been working for Trump since his first term in office, has been one of the president’s fiercest defenders.
Her White House career began with a 2018 internship in the correspondence office, where she sorted through mail. She quickly turned that role into a full-time job in the press office after approaching then-press secretary Kayleigh McEnany for a position. Leavitt went on to become a top press aide.
After Trump’s defeat in 2020, Leavitt went to work for Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York. But she was inspired to jump into politics herself and in 2022 ran for her home congressional district seat in southern New Hampshire. She won the Republican primary but was handily defeated by Democrat Chris Pappas .
She then became a spokeswoman for Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign and, later, press secretary at the start of his second term. Leavitt, 28, is the youngest White House press secretary in history and one of Trump’s longest serving spokespeople.
Inside the White House, she was viewed as one of the president’s most trusted aides and someone he would frequently call upon for advice. Leavitt was often one of the few senior advisers in the room as the president met with world leaders in the Oval Office. Officials inside the White House say the president respected her opinion, even if he didn’t always take her guidance.
During her time as press secretary, major changes were made to the White House press pool, traditionally organized by the White House Correspondents’ Association. In February 2025, The White House took control of the press pool and added “new media” to the rotation. “The White House press team in this administration will determine who gets to enjoy the very privileged and limited access in spaces such as Air Force One and the Oval Office,” Leavitt said at the time .
Leavitt recently went on parental leave after giving birth to her second child. She returned to the White House podium in July. She didn’t take maternity leave after her first pregnancy during Trump’s last campaign for president.
Her departure, though, marks the second Trump official to leave within the past week. Trump announced on Sunday that White House counsel David Warrington is also leaving his post and being replaced by Will Scharf, who served as one of the president’s personal lawyers and recently as staff secretary. Another senior communications official, deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson, also recently left the White House to work at OnMessage Public Strategies, a public affairs firm.
Leavitt said being White House press secretary was “the honor and adventure of a lifetime” and thanked the president, the first lady, the Trump family and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, among others.
“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,” Leavitt wrote on X.
