Karoline Leavitt Leaves White House as Trump’s Press Secretary

Karoline Leavitt leaves the White House: Karoline Leavitt, who is now the White House Press Secretary, will retire at the end of August. She intends to continue advising President Donald Trump from outside the administration.

Since she is the youngest person to have held this post, Leavitt has said she is leaving to spend more time with her two children.

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Karoline Leavitt Leaves White House: Was Known For Her Strong Support of Trump

While she served as Trump’s Press Secretary for 18 months, Leavitt, who was 28 at the time, was known for her strong support of Trump and frequently engaged in vigorous debates with reporters at White House briefings.

In May, Leavitt had her second child, a daughter, and has recently returned to work at the White House after her maternity leave.

Press Briefings to Bedtime Stories: Inside the High-Stakes Shift to Motherhood

Karoline Leavitt leaves White House: Leavitt stated on X that being Press Secretary was "the honour and adventure of a lifetime" and also said that it had become more difficult to balance motherhood with the demands of her job.

Leavitt felt she couldn't balance being the mother she wanted to be with the round-the-clock demands of the Press Secretary role.

It is expected that she will continue to work with Trump's political team as an external communications adviser and will remain involved in the wider "Make America Great Again" campaign.

Trump Hails Karoline Leavitt, as 'One of the Best White House Press Secretaries' in History

Karoline Leavitt Latest Update: Trump lauded Leavitt, describing her as "one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the history of the Office", and said that she had been a leader in his administration and had played an important role in his 2024 re-election campaign.

Trump also described Leavitt as "a real leader in the White House" and said that she had done a "phenomenal job" in fighting for justice, liberty, and freedom since 2018, including during his 2024 re-election campaign.

She joined Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and then became its transition spokesperson before being selected to head the White House press team.

When she took office in January 2025, she was 26 years old, thus becoming the youngest person ever to hold the position of White House Press Secretary.

White House Revamps Press Access Rules, Sparking Media Debate

Karoline Leavitt leaves White House: Recalling Karoline’s time in office, the White House altered the way it dealt with the news media.

Together with communications director Steven Cheung, Leavitt helped to draw up policies which gave the administration greater control over which journalists could access the president.

The White House abandoned the previous system in which the White House Correspondents' Association selected the rotating press pool.

Instead, the administration granted greater access to podcasts, newsletters, and other newer digital outlets and set up a special "new media" spot in the briefing room.

Supporters of Trump argued that these changes enabled the administration to keep up with the evolving media landscape.

However, advocates of press freedom argued that the new system could allow the administration to grant preferential treatment to outlets that offered more sympathetic coverage.

Karoline Leavitt Resignation: Steps Down Amid Scrutiny Over Secret Service Operation at NATO Summit

Karoline Leavitt Latest News: Leavitt is leaving the position as the administration comes under scrutiny over a reported security operation during Trump's visit to a NATO summit in Turkey in July.

The Washington Post reported this week that the Secret Service transported Trump between the planes in a catering truck, while the journalists and staff remained on another plane.

This was done because of concerns regarding a possible Iranian assassination threat.

This was a departure from the normal practice, under which journalists travelling with the president are kept informed of his movements.

Karoline Leavitt: Key Facts You Need to Know

Karoline Leavitt was born on August 24, 1998. In 2025, she became the White House press secretary for President Donald Trump, making her the youngest person to hold that position.

Earlier, she worked as an assistant press secretary from 2019 to 2021 during Trump’s first term.

Leavitt grew up in New Hampshire in a Roman Catholic family and often talks about how important faith is to her.

She went to Saint Anselm College on a softball scholarship. While in college, she interned at Fox News during the 2016 presidential election.

That same year, she wrote an article in The Saint Anselm Crier criticising the “liberal media,” which she described as “unjust, unfair, and sometimes just plain old false.”

Leavitt graduated in 2019 with a B.A. in politics and communication.

After graduating, Leavitt started working in the Trump White House, where she wrote letters to constituents in the correspondence office.

She was later promoted to assistant press secretary. After Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, Leavitt supported Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud, even though there was no evidence for these claims.

When she left the White House in 2021, she became director of communications for Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York.

In 2022, she left that job to run for Congress in New Hampshire’s 1st district. She campaigned as “a Generation Z conservative,” supporting tax cuts and stricter border security.

Leavitt won the Republican primary but lost to the Democratic incumbent, Chris Pappas, in the general election.

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Leavitt worked as press secretary for Trump’s campaign.

After Trump won, he announced that Leavitt would become White House press secretary, saying, “Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator.”

She started the job in January 2025 at age 27, making her the youngest person to hold the position. She quickly became known for staying calm under pressure and sometimes being combative.

At her first press briefing on January 28, 2025, she criticised traditional media outlets and said that podcasters, influencers, bloggers, and others from the “new media landscape” would be included.

In August 2026, Leavitt said she would leave the White House to spend more time with her young family.

She called the decision “bittersweet” and said she would keep advising Trump, stating: “My fight is entering a new phase, but it is far from over.”

In 2023, Leavitt became engaged to real estate developer Nicholas Riccio, who is 32 years older than she is. They had a son, Nicholas (“Niko”) Robert Riccio, in 2024.

The couple married in January 2025, just before Leavitt became White House press secretary. Their daughter, Viviana (“Vivi”) Riccio, was born in 2026.

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