Karoline Leavitt reveals update on her replacement on her final day at the White House

Donald Trump’s White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has announced that it’s her last day in the job, as she issued an update on the recruitment process for her replacement.

The now 29-year-old made history when she became the youngest person to step into the role in January 2025, aged 27.

She quickly gained a reputation for being unflappable, thanks to her sharp responses to reporters and attacks on Trump’s enemies.

However, the shock news broke earlier this month that she’d be stepping down from the role, as Trump announced that she was doing so to spend more time with her young children and family - a decision he ‘totally understands and respects’.

He added: “Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party.”

While Karoline herself said 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, to say the least’.

She gave birth to her second child, a daughter called Viviana, in May, after welcoming her son, Nicholas, two, in July 2024, with her husband, Nicholas Riccio.

Leavitt announced earlier this month that she'd be stepping down from the role (Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)

Now, she’s issued an update, while appearing on NewsNation’s Morning in America on Thursday morning (27 August).

She admitted that the search for her successor is still ‘ongoing,’ but the US President has had ‘no shortage of applications’.

Leavitt said on the show: “There are many capable people who want this job, and I have offered to the president to continue to give him my advice and counsel in choosing the next person for the post.”

She hinted: “There is definitely a list, and there’s a lot of good people. I won’t say any names or break any news on that front. Again, it’s the president’s decision to make, but I think I have a say in the qualities that the person should have.”

Speaking about how she feels on the last day of the job, Leavitt said it’s a ‘very surreal feeling,’ and it has been ‘the adventure of a lifetime’.

She welcomed her second child, a daughter called Viviana, in May (Instagram/karoline/leavitt)

She told the host, Markie Martin, that every day as a working mother is a ‘challenge’ and ‘you have to make sacrifices’ and ‘prioritise your time’.

“You have to say no to a lot of opportunities that come your way because you want to be there for bedtime with your kids every night,” Leavitt continued, adding: “Welcoming my daughter into this world in May, your heart changes as a mom. Only mothers understand that.”

Leavitt said she ‘prayed on it’ and talked to her husband ‘night after night about what to do,’ calling the choice to step down ‘one of the most difficult decisions’ she’s ever had to make.

She concluded: “I’ve served the president the best I can and he deserves the press secretary who can be here on the clock, literally 24/7. That’s what the job requires.

“And sometimes in life you just can’t have it all at the same time. And I realize I’m at that moment in my life right now.”