Karoline Leavitt has offered up her biggest clue yet about who will take over as White House press secretary after she signs off this week.
Speaking at her final press gaggle outside the West Wing, Leavitt confirmed that Donald Trump would continue to be his own chief spokesperson until he found someone to replace her—and it appears the president is in no rush to do so.
“I know the president will continue to take your calls and provide you with statements every day until he assumes a replacement for the role,” Leavitt told reporters on Thursday, declaring that, “I’ll miss you guys.”
“I think it’s most important in this job to understand that President Trump is his own best spokesperson,” she added.
“We joke—(White House communications director) Steven Cheung and me—that he is the true communications director and press secretary here at the White House.”
Leavitt’s comments come as she prepares to leave the president without one of his most effective defenders months before November’s midterm elections.
In a move that rocked Washington, the 29-year-old announced her departure on August 12, saying she wanted to devote more time to her son, Niko, 2, and three-month-old daughter Viviana, whom she shares with real estate developer Nicholas Riccio, 60.
She will continue to help Trump “on the other side,” she said on Thursday—a reference to her return to MAGA Inc., the shadowy super PAC that has amassed a $400 million war chest that Trump now controls.
Leavitt worked as a spokeswoman for MAGA Inc in 2023 before joining Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Its donors are largely a who’s who of industries with stakes in Trump administration policies, such as crypto twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss; Texas pipeline billionaire Kelcy Warren; and Foris Dax, the parent company of crypto.com.
But until this week, when it spent about $800,000 to boost embattled Trump-backed candidate Darline Graham in South Carolina, it has largely sat on its fortune, frustrating some Republicans ahead of the midterms.
Several names have been floated as possible replacements for Leavitt, and Trump claims there has been no shortage of interest.
“I’ve never had so many job applications in my life,” he told reporters last week, adding that Leavitt had “made that job very glamorous.”
Among those in the mix are CNN’s resident MAGA mouthpiece, Scott Jennings, who has quietly met with Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, since the press secretary position opened up.
However, despite speculation about Jennings, the CNN star—who is detested in some MAGA circles because he originally blamed Trump for the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol—is not likely to be the final choice, sources told CBS News this week.
Other contenders include Trump’s former personal lawyer Alina Habba; chief of protocol and former conservative commentator Monica Crowley; former Trump campaign spokesperson Jason Miller; and Leavitt’s Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly.
For now, top administration officials will take turns holding press briefings, as they did during Leavitt’s maternity leave earlier this year, when Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Administrator Mehmet Oz fronted the media.
Asked on Friday if she had any advice for her successor, Leavitt said they should know that the president was his own best spokesperson and to also believe “in the mission.”
The MAGA firebrand, known for her combative style and willingness to say almost anything to defend Trump, even had some nice departing words for the White House press corps.
“I’ll miss you guys,” she said. “I know that’s probably not something anyone would expect me to say, but obviously it’s been great working with all of you... Good luck!”
