White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is stepping down from her role to focus on family, President Donald Trump announced in a statement.
“Our wonderful White House Press Secretary, and one of my most trusted aides, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect,” Trump, 80, wrote via Truth Social on Wednesday, August 12.
Trump added that Leavitt, 28, “will now be one of my top outside advisors.”
“Karoline has been a real leader in the White House, and has done a phenomenal job fighting for Justice, Liberty, and Freedom, since 2018, including our Historic Re-Election Campaign of 2024,” he concluded. “Karoline has been one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office. Thank you, Karoline, for a job well done!”
Leavitt has served as the White House press secretary since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025. She welcomed daughter Viviana with husband Nicholas Riccio in May. The couple, who tied the knot in January 2025, also share son Niko, 2.
In her own statement shared via X, Leavitt said her role as press secretary was 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 in the Oval Office, flying around the world and meeting foreign leaders, and traveling across our beautiful country and meeting Americans from all walks of life,” she wrote.
“Most of all, I am thankful to the President for entrusting me with the distinct privilege of speaking on his behalf at the White House podium,” Leavitt continued. “I have spoken with great pride about the many historic accomplishments of this Administration, and I have relished holding the liberal media accountable and ensuring the American people hear the truth about President Trump’s successes.”
Leavitt added that “being a mother and welcoming a new baby while working in one of the most demanding jobs in the world has been the most rewarding yet challenging season of my life.” However, since welcoming her baby girl, she has “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.”
“President Trump has asked me to continue serving as a top advisor to him on the outside, and I will always remain a vocal advocate for MAGA and the Republican Party,” she continued. “Our country is facing an existential threat from an increasingly extremist Democrat Party that seeks to destroy everything great about America, and I believe it is incumbent upon all of us who care about this country to fight back against that threat. My fight is entering a new phase, but it is far from over.”
Leavitt concluded by thanking the president, First Lady Melania Trump and the “entire Trump family” for their “kindness and generosity over the years.” She also thanked Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for “empowering me since the day she hired me on the campaign,” as well as the president’s cabinet and her staff.
“It has been a privilege to serve alongside so many accomplished and impressive people, and I look forward to cheering them on over the next two and a half years,” she wrote. “And of course, thank you most especially to my loving and supportive husband and family for the sacrifices they made for me to serve in this role. ♥️🇺🇸.”
