Karoline Leavitt to step down as White House press secretary

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will be departing her role at the end of the month to prioritise her family, United States President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social. “Karoline has been a real leader in the White House, and has done a phenomenal job fighting for Justice, Liberty, and Freedom, since 2018,” Trump wrote in a post on Wednesday, revealing the staffing shake-up.He noted that Leavitt would remain one of his “top outside advisors” and an “influential voice within the Republican Party”. 
Leavitt is the latest in a series of senior Trump officials to step down from his second administration.Since the start of this year, high-level figures like former Attorney General Pam Bondi and ex-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem have been fired. Other officials — including former Secretary of Labour Lori Michelle Chavez-DeRemer and Todd Lyon, acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — have resigned amid scrutiny over their leadership.
Leavitt, 28, the youngest ever US presidential top spokesperson, has been a fiercely loyal Trump defender, delivering fluent and aggressive performances at often combative press briefings.In May, Leavitt announced the birth of her second child -- a girl named Viviana -- just days after delaying her maternity leave following an alleged assassination attempt on Trump when a gunman tried to storm the White House correspondents dinner. "I am thankful to the President for entrusting me with the distinct privilege of speaking on his behalf at the White House podium," Leavitt said on social media as her departure was announced.

Serving as the White House Press Secretary over the past year and a half has been the honor and adventure of a lifetime. I am incredibly grateful to President Trump for granting me so many extraordinary opportunities, such as working in the West Wing and spending countless hours… https://t.co/4jyW61DGGh pic.twitter.com/xny1yccuBn

— Karoline Leavitt (@karolineleavitt) August 12, 2026

Leavitt has been a presence in Trump’s inner circle since his first term in office. She started as an intern, serving in the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence, and from there, her career quickly advanced. By the end of Trump’s first term in January 2021, Leavitt was a spokesperson for the White House, serving as an assistant press secretary. Her style at the White House podium has been described as “combative”, and she developed a reputation for clashing with reporters during her frequent news briefings.