White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who has held the high-profile role in the Trump administration since 2025, is stepping down at the end of August. In addition to the American spokesperson confirming the unprecedented news via social media, the US president supported her decision, calling her one of his “most trusted aides.”

Last year, the 28-year-old MAGA personality became the youngest person to ever serve in the role. As the 36th press secretary, Karoline was the fifth person to become Trump’s chief spokesperson. After Sarah Huckabee Sanders, she has earned the title of the second longest-serving press secretary in either of Donald Trump‘s administrations.

While her replacement wasn’t immediately announced, both Trump and Leavitt have since affirmed that she is departing from the press secretary role to spend time with her young children and family.

Leavitt and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, welcomed their second child, a baby girl, merely months ago in May. The couple already shares a two-year-old son. Before she returned from her maternity leave last month, several top Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stood behind the podium.

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Her exit announcement continues to expand the series of top officials’ resignations or removals during the second Trump administration. An Axios analysis of the prolonged pattern highlighted that women have been the first to leave their positions despite Trump’s 2.0 Cabinet welcoming them. The Republican leader’s official inner circle included more female staff members this time than his first term and than his Republican predecessor.

The past few months have seen a string of departures by women, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

What’s next for Karoline Leavitt?

As Leavitt takes time out for her family, Trump has also asked his favourite press secretary to continue serving as a top advisor to him on the outside.

“I will always remain a vocal advocate for MAGA and the Republican Party,” the outgoing White House official mentioned in a statement on X.

Trump says one Karoline Leavitt will remain one of his ‘top outside advisors’

“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,” the POTUS wrote on Truth Social.

Trump formally admitted that Leavitt will stay on as one of his “top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party,” as he hopes for his political party to win the Midterm elections in November. Praising his outgoing spokesperson as a “real leader in the White House,” Trump even went on to brand her as “one of the best” press secretaries in the presidential office’s history.

“Thank you, Karoline, for a job well done!” the American president concluded online.

Karoline Leavitt confirms ‘new chapter’ after White House term

The 36th White House press secretary stated on X: “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 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.

Sharing a peek into a her personal life ahead of the upcoming transition, Levitt said that welcoming a new baby while working in “one of the most demanding jobs in the world” has not only been rewarding but also challenging for her. The outgoing press secretary acknowledged that even after resuming her post after the maternity leave she was constantly consumed by fears that she may not be able to fulfill her duties as “the best mom” to her two young children. As a result, she has now opened up about embarking on her life’s new chapter outside the White House.

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“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 added on X.

Leavit then went on to speak on the “existential threat” posed by what she described as “an increasingly extremist Democrat Party.” Asserting that as it was “incumbent” on those who “care” about the US to “fight back,” she claimed that her own “fight” was “entering a new phase.”

The White House spokesperson thank Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and their family for showering her with kindness over the years. Leavitt extended her vote of thanks to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for “empowering” her, and the entire Trump 2.0 Cabinet.

“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 continued, adding a final message of gratitude for her supportive husband and family for their sacrifices during her term as press secretary.

All Trump 2.0 officials who’ve left their roles

The last few months alone have now borne witness to at least five women from Trump’s second Cabinet either resigning or being fired.

Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was the first to go in March, despite her seemingly indispensable role as the prime driver behind the administration’s mass deportation agenda. Less than a month after that, ex-Attorney General Pam Bondi was forced out.

Thereafter, former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced that she was leaving in April, followed by the US chief intelligence official, Tulsi Gabbard, revealing in May that she was resigning (effective at the end of June), citing her husband’s brain cancer.

Trump’s Cabinet 2.0 wasn’t necessarily deemed diverse, with only 17% of the nominees being non-White, according to a 2025 Washington Post analysis. However, the Republican leader significantly increased the proportion of women among his advisors, at least initially, with 37.5% of the second-term administration made up of women, up from 17%.

Here’s a list of some high-profile officials who have either left of their own accord or been exiled from Trump’s second term:

  • Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt
  • Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (replaced by Markwayne Mullin)
  • Attorney General Pam Bondi (replaced by Todd Blanche)
  • Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer (replaced by Keith Sonderling – acting)
  • FDA Commissioner Marty Makary (replaced by Kyle Diamantas – acting)
  • Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard (replaced by Bill Pulte – acting)
  • DOGE leader Elon Musk
  • DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy
  • National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (replaced by Marco Rubio – acting)
  • Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino
  • Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino
  • Special Government Employee Corey Lewandowski
  • Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons
  • National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez
  • Air Force General Charles Q. Brown Jr
  • Navy Secretary John Phelan
  • Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz
  • CDC Director nominee Dave Weldon
  • Ambassador of the United Nations nominee Elise Stefanik
  • Bureau of Land Management director nominee Kathleen Sgamma
  • Surgeon General nominee Janette Nesheiwat
  • Head of the Library of Congress Carla Hayden
  • Acting FEMA director Cameron Hamilton
  • Director and deputy administrator of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) Drew Snyder