Karoline Leavitt to leave White House post at end of August

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will leave her post at the end of August, US President Donald Trump announced on August 12, 2026. Trump said she would move into an outside advisory role and support the Republican Party before the November US midterm elections, but he did not name a successor.

Leavitt, 28, is the youngest person to serve as White House press secretary and described her departure as a bittersweet decision after returning from maternity leave. She said the demands of the job prevented her from giving her two young children the time and attention she believed they deserved.

The press secretary speaks for the US president

An archived White House description says the press secretary provides daily media briefings on the US president's activities and agenda. At briefings and in interviews, the office explains administration decisions and responds to questions about policy, controversies and breaking events.

The US president chooses the press secretary directly, and the appointment does not require confirmation by the US Senate. A replacement can therefore take office without a confirmation hearing or Senate vote, although the White House had not announced a choice by August 13, 2026.

Leavitt moved through campaigns, the US Congress and the White House

Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term and later served as communications director for US Representative Elise Stefanik of New York. She then became a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super political action committee supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 presidential campaign and following him back to the White House.

US Federal Election Commission results show that Leavitt won the 2022 Republican primary for a US House seat in New Hampshire's First Congressional District with 25,931 votes, or 34.39 percent. She received 142,229 votes, or 45.89 percent, in the general election and lost to Democratic incumbent Chris Pappas, who received 54.00 percent.

Trump named Leavitt as his incoming press secretary after the 2024 election, when she was 27. She displaced Ronald Ziegler as the youngest person chosen for the role; Ziegler was 29 when he became President Richard Nixon's press secretary in 1969.

Leavitt cited the demands of raising two young children

Leavitt gave birth to her daughter, Viviana, in May 2026 and returned to work after a short leave. She also has a two-year-old son. In her departure statement, she said she could not meet the constant demands of the press secretary role while being the mother she wanted to be.

That account is Leavitt's stated reason for leaving rather than an independently testable finding. Public reporting reviewed by APPI News did not identify other factors behind the decision, and this report does not infer them.

The outside advisory role remains undefined

Trump said Leavitt would become one of his top outside advisers and an influential voice in the Republican Party as it prepared for the November 2026 US midterm elections. Neither the announcement nor the public reports reviewed for this article gave the role a formal title, identified a pay arrangement or described its day-to-day responsibilities.

The available statements also described Leavitt's White House departure only as occurring at the end of August. APPI News could not verify an exact final working day, so August 31 should not be treated as a confirmed handover date.

No successor has been announced

The White House had not named a new press secretary by the reporting cutoff on August 13, 2026. Because the position does not need Senate approval, the next appointment could be announced and take effect without a congressional process.

Until the White House identifies a replacement or an interim arrangement, it is not possible to verify who will lead briefings after Leavitt leaves. The succession plan and the terms of her outside work remain the two main unresolved parts of the transition.