President Trump is facing what many are describing as the impossible task of replacing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt following news of her decision to step down.
Leavitt is considered an indispensable member of the administration, playing a key role in Trump’s inner circle while working as one of the White House’s lead messengers.
The president announced her departure on Wednesday. She’ll leave at month’s end.
Republicans, and even a number of Democrats, say Leavitt’s departure is a major loss for the White House as Trump seeks to bolster his party in its bid to keep control of the House and the Senate in the midterms.
“It’s a definite loss. She’s been there since Day 1 of the campaign,” one former White House official said. “She’s been the messenger since then.”
One Democratic operative said “game respect game” when asked about Leavitt’s performance as press secretary.
“She was always on message, and she was always aggressively defending her boss,” the Democratic operative said. “That is what you want in a press secretary.”
Mike Dubke, who worked as White House communications director under Trump in 2017, said he would not be surprised if the vacancy left by Leavitt remains open for a while.
“The president, of course, is his own best press secretary,” Dubke said. “Unlike past departures, there is seemingly no one waiting in the wings to fill Leavitt’s shoes.”
A second former White House official said there does not seem to be a huge rush to fill Leavitt’s shoes.
The White House has given no indication of who Leavitt’s replacement might be, but several names have already been floated as her heir apparent.
Deputy principal White House press secretary Anna Kelly, who previously served as national press secretary at the Republican National Committee during the 2024 election, would come into the role with experience from the campaign trail, Capitol Hill and the White House.
Former Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin has also been mentioned as a potential replacement. Like Leavitt, she has a combative style when dealing with the press, and Trump is said to like her performance on television.
Trump has also praised Roma Daravi, who is the vice president of communications at the Kennedy Center. Daravi has also been in Trump’s orbit for a decade now, holding multiple roles in his first administration and working on his advance team during his 2016 presidential run.
Other Trump allies who may be contenders for the role include Katie Miller, Alina Habba and Jason Miller.
Katie Miller, one of the most vocal defenders of Trump online, is married to deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller but has seen her own star rise in conservative media with the launch of her show “The Katie Miller Podcast.”
Habba, former acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, is a staunch Trump loyalist and defender, as is former Trump campaign spokesperson Jason Miller.
“The press secretary role — especially under someone as active as President Trump — is one of the most demanding and intense 24/7 jobs. Stepping back to prioritize family after almost two years is well earned,” said Sean Spicer, who worked as press secretary during Trump’s first administration.
Leavitt’s path to the podium started at the White House during the first Trump administration, where she worked as an assistant press secretary. She went on to become communications director for Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) when Trump left office in 2021.
Leavitt then launched a bid to oust Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) but lost to him in the general election during the 2022 midterms.
She went on to become a spokesperson for Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., during the 2024 presidential election before she moved over to his campaign.
Leavitt made history as the youngest person to get the White House role, at age 27, and she also made history in becoming the first woman to do the job while pregnant.
“The cool thing about Karoline is if I had a question, I could go to Karoline and ask her. Not all press secretaries are that accessible,” said the first former Trump White House official.
Leavitt’s close relationship with the president was also considered a major asset in the administration.
“If it was coming from her, it was most likely coming from the president,” said the second former White House official.
But like her predecessors on both sides of the aisle, Leavitt and the White House communications shop fell under intense scrutiny.
In addition to facing backlash for her combative spin style, Leavitt and the press office faced pushback from critics for the exclusion of certain outlets like The Associated Press from certain events, as well as the inclusion of some newer, right-leaning media outlets and pundits in the press corps. The White House Correspondents’ Association, which controls the press pool, clashed with Leavitt and the press office over attempts to manage the press pool.
“My issue was always less with the rules, more with the motives,” the Democratic operative said. “Are you punishing the AP and singling them out because they wrote something you didn’t like? That’s wrong.”
The first former White House official predicted that Leavitt’s departure is “detrimental” to the White House ahead of the midterms.
However, it won’t be the first time Leavitt has been absent from the White House. During her maternity leave earlier this year, a cast of characters from the administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President Vance and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, conducted briefings in that time.
“It says a lot when you have the vice president and the secretary of State filling in for you when you’re on maternity leave,” said Sonny Joy Nelson, former special assistant to Trump and director of media affairs at the White House.
Some are skeptical that Leavitt’s loss will ultimately have much of an impact on the midterms, noting she will still work as an outside adviser to Trump.
“Honestly I think the importance of the White House press briefing room is going to fade as we start looking at 2028 candidates,” said Yemisi Egbewole, a former Biden White House adviser.
“It’s actually kind of smart for her to get out now because I think the president is about to enter a lame-duck era,” she added.
Egbewole pushed back at the notion that replacing Leavitt is an impossible task.
“I don’t think anyone in the White House is irreplaceable. The belief that you are is probably pretty dangerous,” she said.
Mallory Wilson contributed.
