Inside Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s Departure
Karoline Leavitt's resignation as White House press secretary arrived suddenly Wednesday, but according to a new report, the decision had been developing for months behind the scenes.
The 28-year-old mother of two had been weighing whether she could continue handling one of Washington's most demanding communications jobs while raising two young children, according to the Daily Mail. Those discussions reportedly stretched back to at least the birth of her daughter, Viviana, in May.
Eventually, Leavitt decided something had to give.
“It was a very stressful job to do with her children,” a source told the Daily Mail. “She never got any sleep, and she didn’t want her performance to slip either, so she decided to stay as long as she could and do the job well.”
According to that source, President Donald Trump didn't want to lose her.
“The president did everything he could to keep her.”
Trump's own announcement Wednesday left little doubt about his assessment of Leavitt's performance.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He called her “one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office” and thanked her “for a job well done.”
🚨 BREAKING: Trump announced Karoline Leavitt's departure to "spend more time with family."
In a LEAKED video from last night, she looks visibly isolated during a tense Marine One exchange with Trump and another woman.
Hours later, she's out.
Is the WH covering up something? pic.twitter.com/jX4zrfIOnm
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) August 12, 2026
Leavitt made history when she became Trump's press secretary following his return to the White House in January 2025. At 27 at the time, she was the youngest person ever appointed to the position.
But her experience balancing politics and motherhood had begun well before she stepped behind the White House briefing-room podium.
Her son, Niko, was born July 10, 2024, while Leavitt was working as a spokeswoman for Trump's presidential campaign. According to CNN, she took only four days away from work.
Her return happened under extraordinary circumstances. The day before she came back, Trump survived an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Leavitt continued through the remainder of the campaign, Trump's election victory and his return to office. She married real estate developer Nicholas Riccio in January 2025, the same month she assumed the press secretary role.
Then came another major change. Leavitt gave birth to Viviana in May, leaving her with two very young children while serving as the administration's principal public spokeswoman.
According to the Daily Mail, she began considering resignation while still on maternity leave.
One source characterized it as “no doubt one of the hardest decisions of her life so far.”
Trump reportedly made clear that he wanted Leavitt to return. She did, but another source told the newspaper that the first week back confirmed her doubts.
“First week back she realized she wasn’t feeling it anymore,” the source said.
The same source said Trump trusted Leavitt and was reluctant to bring another new person into his inner circle while concentrating on the remainder of his term.
By that point, according to the report, Leavitt wasn't deciding whether to leave so much as determining how to do it while maintaining a good relationship with the president.
“She was just trying to figure out how to politely step down with his blessing,” another source told the Daily Mail.
Trump's public response indicates she received it.
He wrote that Leavitt's decision was one he “totally understand[s] and respect[s],” while simultaneously announcing that she isn't disappearing from his political operation.
Instead, Trump said Leavitt will become one of his “top outside advisors” and remain active in Republican politics heading into the midterm elections.
That arrangement gives Leavitt a different role without the daily demands that come with serving as White House press secretary.
The familiar Washington phrase “spend more time with family” has attracted some skepticism online because of its long history as a convenient explanation for political departures. In Leavitt's case, however, the Daily Mail's reporting describes a specific sequence stretching back months: the birth of a second child, discussions about leaving during maternity leave, Trump's attempts to retain her, a return to work and then a final decision to resign.
There is no publicly established evidence in the material cited that her departure resulted from a scandal or cover-up.