Updated
Updated · NOTUS · Aug 20
Trump Weighs Male Press Secretary to Replace Karoline Leavitt After 4 Female Successors
Updated
Updated · NOTUS · Aug 20

Trump Weighs Male Press Secretary to Replace Karoline Leavitt After 4 Female Successors

3 articles · Updated · NOTUS · Aug 20

Summary

  • Karoline Leavitt plans to leave the White House at the end of August, and Trump has told advisers he would prefer a man for the job, aiming to avoid direct comparisons with his outgoing spokeswoman.
  • Scott Jennings is among the names Trump has shown interest in, though one source said he is not sold on the conservative pundit; former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer has also been floated.
  • Trump is in no rush to fill the post and could keep using the briefing model from Leavitt’s maternity leave, when JD Vance and Cabinet officials including Marco Rubio and Scott Bessent took turns at the podium.
  • Leavitt, who returned in July and announced her exit last week, said she wants to spend more time with family and will remain involved as an outside senior adviser; Natalie Harp is also seen by one White House ally as a possible contender.

Insights

Will the White House permanently abandon the traditional press secretary role for a rotating cast of senior officials?
How might a decentralized briefing strategy alter the way the administration communicates its most critical global policies?