Karoline Leavitt Exiting White House Job at End of the Month, Weeks After Returning From Maternity Leave

Karoline Leavitt will be exiting her position as President Donald Trump‘s White House press secretary at the end of the month.

According to a report from CNBC published on Wednesday, August 12, Trump, 80, posted the news via Truth Social and said that Leavitt, 28, was leaving “so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect!”

The news comes shortly after Leavitt returned from maternity leave after giving birth to her second child earlier this year. The Apprentice alum referred to Leavitt as “one of his most trusted aides” and added that she would become “one of [his] top outside advisors.”

Leavitt, who shares son Nico, 2, and daughter Vivi, 3 months, with husband Nicholas Riccio, also addressed the news in a post shared to X and said the decision came after she realized she couldn’t balance the demands of serving as the White House press secretary while raising young children.

“The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have 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,” she wrote. “That is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life.”