Inside The Search To Replace Karoline Leavitt

The announcement that Karoline Leavitt is leaving her post as White House press secretary caught even some of her colleagues off guard.

But inside President Donald Trump's inner circle, the surprise quickly turned to Washington’s favorite parlor game — albeit one with unusually high stakes: Who will take her place?

The potential names cascaded like a waterfall, though there doesn’t seem to be an obvious heir apparent, according to two people close to the administration, granted anonymity to discuss those conversations.

One of those people suggested Monica Crowley, Trump's chief of protocol and a veteran conservative media personality. The other person suggested CNN commentator Scott Jennings, former Trump campaign spokesperson Jason Miller and former Trump counsel Alina Habba.

Another potential fit is one of Leavitt’s deputies, Anna Kelly, who has taken on a broad portfolio in the White House press shop and made several appearances on the major networks.

Others have floated Katie Miller, a former administration official and wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, as another potential contender. But the first person close to the White House quickly poured cold water on the idea, saying bluntly: “Not happening.”

The second person close to the administration called Leavitt’s departure “unplanned,” adding “this is a super important job for DJT… there is probably time before he makes a decision.”

“I think the White House will do a real search here. So what does the entire landscape look like — TV people, admin people, and inner circle folks like Jason [Miller] and Alina [Habba] have some chatter,” the person said.

The White House did not respond to several questions about whether the White House has picked a successor and whether Cabinet secretaries will fill in on a temporary basis, as was the case during Leavitt’s maternity leave.

Trump announced Wednesday that Leavitt would step down at the end of the month to spend more time with her family, ending a year-and-a-half run in which the 28-year-old became one of the administration's most visible public faces. Leavitt, who recently returned from maternity leave after the birth of her second child, will remain an outside adviser to Trump.

There is no shortage of people in Trump's orbit who can defend him on television. The harder task may be finding someone able to replicate her success at the less visible part of her job — off-camera press relations.

“I’d say Karoline mastered the art of being an effective spokesperson for the president while also substantively engaging with reporters on their stories to make sure the President’s message was woven in there too,” said a third person close to the White House. “Anyone can go on TV and stick to talking points, but the next person is going to have to match her behind-the-scenes press work in order to be as effective as she was.”

Then there's the briefing room.

Leavitt made the televised briefing a regular feature of Trump's second term while simultaneously reshaping who got access to it. At her first briefing in January 2025, she announced that the administration would open seats to “new media.” The White House also began deciding for itself which news organizations would be given the coveted slots of the presidential press pool. The White House Correspondents' Association previously decided which organizations participated in the pool.

Her successor will inherit the question of whether to maintain the pace of press briefings — and whether Trump, who frequently serves as his own chief spokesperson during lengthy exchanges with reporters, will even want the person to do so.

“We're still figuring it out,” said a senior White House official, granted anonymity to discuss the private discussions. “None of it's been decided.”

During Trump's first term, his press secretaries increasingly abandoned the traditional briefing, culminating in Stephanie Grisham famously never holding a formal briefing during her tenure.

Megan Messerly contributed to this report.

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