The White House Press Secretary Is Leaving. Here's Who Might Replace Her
President Trump announced on August 12, 2026, that Karoline Leavitt will step down as White House press secretary at the end of the month to spend more time with her family. USA Today
The press secretary is the person who speaks for the president to the news media, delivering daily briefings and answering reporters' questions. At 28, Leavitt is the youngest person to ever hold the job. She started when Trump's second term began, and the White House has published video of her briefings from August 2025 through early 2026, showing a steady schedule of press events. NBC News
Her resignation is expected to start a competition inside Trump's inner circle over who will replace her. At least four names are already being discussed. The Guardian
The New York Post, citing administration sources, reported that Alina Habba is an early frontrunner. Habba was a personal lawyer for Trump before he appointed her as a US attorney for New Jersey. A federal judge later ruled that appointment unlawful. Her closeness to Trump makes her a leading candidate, but the legal problems with her prior appointment could make the vetting process harder.
Stephen Cheung is the current White House communications director, a job that works alongside the press secretary to manage the administration's messaging. He worked closely with Leavitt during Trump's second term. Whether his office will influence the selection process is an open question.
Anna Kelly is currently the principal deputy press secretary, meaning she serves directly under Leavitt. She was a spokesperson for Trump's 2024 campaign and previously served as national press secretary for the Republican National Committee. Her hands-on experience in the briefing room and on the campaign trail gives her the most traditional qualifications of the group.
Katie Miller is married to Stephen Miller, one of the administration's most influential policy advisers. She hosts a conservative podcast and previously worked as communications director for the Department of Government Efficiency. Before that, she was Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary from 2019 to 2021. Her marriage gives her access to the president's inner circle that few competitors can match, but it also raises questions about too much power resting with one family inside the West Wing.
Taylor Budowich, a former White House deputy chief of staff, left the administration the previous year to work in the private sector. His name has resurfaced despite his departure. Budowich and Leavitt were both defendants in a lawsuit brought by the Associated Press after the news organization was barred from press briefings for refusing to use the administration's preferred name, "Gulf of America," instead of "Gulf of Mexico." That case tied both figures to one of the administration's most serious press-access disputes.
The broader context here is that the press secretary role in this administration has been more than a communications job. It has been a frontline position in the administration's ongoing conflict with mainstream news outlets over access, language, and how stories are framed. Leavitt's time in the role included defending the Associated Press ban and dealing with the legal fallout, putting the press secretary at a crossroads of messaging and legal battles that people in the role before her did not face. Whoever replaces her inherits not just the podium but the unresolved tensions that came with it.
The candidates come from different backgrounds: legal, communications, campaign, and ideological. Each has ties to Trump's world, and the choice will signal which direction the president wants to emphasize in the later part of his second term. The timeline is tight: Leavitt leaves at the end of August, giving the administration only weeks to pick a successor and manage the handoff.
