# Karoline Leavitt

Karoline Claire Leavitt (born August 24, 1997) is an American political aide and government official who has been serving as the White House press secretary in the second Trump administration since January 2025. She is the 36th and youngest White House press secretary in history.
Leavitt was a presidential writer and assistant press secretary during the first Trump administration. In 2022, she ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in New Hampshire's 1st district, winning the Republican nomination before losing in the general election to Democratic incumbent Chris Pappas. She was a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump Super PAC, and she served as the national press secretary for Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.

## Early life and education

Karoline Claire Leavitt was born in Atkinson, New Hampshire, where she was raised Catholic. Her family owned an ice cream shop and a used truck dealership in Plaistow, New Hampshire. She attended Central Catholic High School in nearby Lawrence, Massachusetts, graduating in 2015, then attended Saint Anselm College on a scholarship for NCAA Division II college softball.
During her college years, Leavitt became politically active with outspoken support for the first Trump presidency. Her op-eds in the college newspaper include a defense of Trump's 2017 travel ban and a critique of the news media. She founded Saint Anselm College's first broadcasting club. While in college, Leavitt worked at Hearst Television WMUR-TV. She graduated in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in communications and politics, the first in her immediate family to earn a college degree.

## Career

During her education at Saint Anselm College, Leavitt interned at Fox News. The summer before her senior year of college, she interned as a writer in the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence. She returned briefly after her 2019 graduation, before joining the White House Press Office as an assistant press secretary under Kayleigh McEnany. Following the conclusion of the first Trump administration, she was hired as the communications director for Republican U.S. representative Elise Stefanik from New York.

### 2022 congressional campaign

In 2022, Leavitt announced she was running for the US House of Representatives in New Hampshire's 1st district. The Republican primary attracted attention because both candidates were former Trump administration staffers. Leavitt differentiated herself with a brazen style that resembled Trump's, and gained right-wing supporters including Lauren Boebert, Ted Cruz, and her mentor Elise Stefanik. She criticized Matt Mowers with references to "the swamp" and "establishment Republicans" for his funding from outside PACs. The New York Times described the candidates as ideologically similar and suggested the primary election was a matter of tone rather than policy.
In September 2022, Leavitt won the Republican primary in a surprise victory. After she lost the general election to Democratic incumbent Chris Pappas by eight percentage points, she worked for a roster of clients. She declined to run again in 2024.
In 2022, Leavitt faced a Federal Election Commission complaint from End Citizens United alleging Leavitt's campaign and treasurer illegally accepted campaign donations over the legal limit and never repaid her donors. In January 2025, Leavitt disclosed in 17 amended campaign filings $326,370 in unpaid campaign debts she had failed to disclose for several years. Roughly $200,000 of the debt was composed of illicit campaign donations made in excess of campaign finance limits she never paid back, in violation of campaign finance laws.

### Trump press secretary

In January 2024, Leavitt accepted the role of national press secretary for Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. In one press appearance on CNN This Morning, she was removed from air for arguing about CNN's debate moderators. Leavitt was an instructor for Project 2025's "Conservative Governance 101" training program.

### White House press secretary

On November 15, 2024, Donald Trump chose Leavitt as his White House press secretary to succeed Karine Jean-Pierre. She assumed office on January 20, 2025. She is the youngest White House press secretary ever appointed.
Leavitt delivered her first White House press conference on January 28, 2025, during which she announced that independent journalists and influencers would also be able to apply for press credentials in the future.
During the press conference, Leavitt falsely stated that "there was about to be 50 million taxpayer dollars that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza". Leavitt's claim was shared on social media and repeated by Trump. PolitiFact stated about the incident that "[t]here is no evidence that the U.S. earmarked $50 million in condoms to Gaza, or that it has recently spent $50 million on condoms in Gaza" and that while a State Department spokesperson said the government "stopped $100 million in funding to Gaza which included money for contraception", Poltifact could not confirm that information.
On January 29, 2025, a federal judge cited Leavitt's tweets in his decision regarding a restraining order related to President Trump's attempted federal funding freeze.
On February 25, 2025, Leavitt announced that in the future her team would "determine who gets to enjoy the very privileged and limited access in spaces such as Air Force One and the Oval Office". The announcement was criticized by the White House Correspondents' Association who claimed that "This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States".

## Personal life

Leavitt is married to Nicholas Riccio, a real estate developer 32 years her senior. They announced their engagement in December 2023 and were married in a private ceremony.
She gave birth to their son in July 2024. She had planned to go on maternity leave, but changed her mind after seeing the July 13, 2024, attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, and resumed her professional duties.
Leavitt is a Roman Catholic and credits her Catholic schooling for instilling pro-life values, discipline, and the importance of public service.