Karoline Leavitt is stepping down as White House Press Secretary at the end of August. President Trump announced the move Tuesday, saying he "totally understands and respects" her decision to prioritize her family — including a second child, Viviana, born in May. She leaves with Trump's full blessing and a standing invitation to serve as one of his top outside advisors heading into the 2026 midterms.
It is worth a moment on what she built before turning to what comes next.
Leavitt took the podium at 27 as the youngest press secretary in American history. She ran her briefings without notes, opened the room to independent journalists and podcast creators alongside the legacy press corps, and held reporters accountable on live television for twenty months straight. The Associated Press sued the administration over the Gulf of Mexico renaming. She treated it as a compliment. Vice President Vance praised her for handling the role with "grace, wit and a smile on her face."
She is stepping away on her own terms, for the right reasons. "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 said.
Now the question is who steps up — and the names in circulation reveal exactly how this administration thinks about the role.
Anna Kelly, Leavitt's Principal Deputy Press Secretary, is the natural inside choice. She has been in that briefing room, knows every corner of the operation, and would deliver continuity from day one. Prediction markets have her between 19 and 23 percent — the frontrunner for anyone who thinks this White House plays it straight down the middle.
Scott Jennings is drawing the most outside attention. He has spent years as a Republican strategist and built a reputation as one of the most effective conservative voices on CNN — methodically winning arguments on hostile ground, in front of hostile audiences. The logic of putting someone with that track record behind the most visible podium in American politics is hard to argue with.
Aline Habba is a serious contender. She served as Trump's personal attorney through his highest-stakes legal battles, defending him on television with a ferocity few could match. She later joined the Department of Justice as a senior advisor to Attorney General Pam Bondi before stepping away from that role in December 2025. Her loyalty and her ability to perform under pressure are beyond question.
Taylor Budowich knows this administration's communications operation from the inside. He served as White House deputy chief of staff for communications and oversaw the restructuring of the presidential press pool in early 2025 — one of the most significant changes in how the briefing room actually functions. He would arrive knowing exactly how this White House wants the room run.
Matthew Boyle, Breitbart's Washington Bureau Chief, represents a more unconventional direction — and an unmistakable statement about who this administration considers legitimate press. Boyle has spent years deep inside the conservative media world, conducted some of the most substantive interviews with Trump himself, and understands better than almost anyone in Washington how the information ecosystem actually works.
Katie Miller served as press secretary to Vice President Pence and remains plugged into the conservative media world through her podcast, the Katie Miller Pod, which regularly features senior administration officials. She is married to senior Trump advisor Stephen Miller. She brings both institutional experience and an active media presence to the table.
Longer-shot names making the rounds include former Arizona candidate Kari Lake, Fox News personality Rachel Campos-Duffy, and former principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields.
A White House source confirmed to the New York Post that Trump has not made a decision yet.
What the list shows is the breadth of what is available. Leavitt proved the briefing room could be run differently — without the old rulebook, with a new class of journalists in the seats, and with the press corps consistently on defense. Every name on this list represents a version of that same approach.
Whoever steps behind that podium next isn't starting from scratch. They're building on what Karoline Leavitt proved was possible.
