Outgoing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will return to MAGA Inc., the pro-Trump super PAC, after leaving the White House at the end of August, she told reporters on Friday.
Leavitt may be leaving the lectern in the White House's famous briefing room, but she is not distancing herself from President Donald Trump. Instead, she is moving directly into the political operation that will work on behalf of the president and the Republican Party ahead of the elections.
Leavitt said over the weekend that after finishing her White House role, she would return to work for MAGA Inc., a political fundraising organization that supports Trump and reportedly has about $350 million on hand.
For Leavitt, the move is effectively a return home. She previously served as a spokeswoman for the organization before joining Trump's election campaign. Politico reported last month that the group had about $350 million in its campaign coffers.
Trump himself signaled this week that Leavitt would remain a significant part of his political circle.\
What is Karoline Leavitt going to do after the White House?
"Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisers and an influential voice within the Republican Party," Trump said in the statement announcing her departure.
Leavitt, who announced that her tenure would end at the conclusion of August, confirmed during a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday that the trip to a campaign rally in Myrtle Beach would be her last in her role as White House press secretary.
She also said she would join Trump at the Republican National Convention in September.
"You will still see me all the time," she promised reporters.
At the beginning of last week, Leavitt explained that she had decided to leave after returning from maternity leave following the birth of her daughter. She said that coming back to the White House made her realize that the intense demands of the job did not allow her to be the mother she wanted to be for her two young children.
"Since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mother my two young children deserve, while simultaneously dedicating the time, energy, and constant attention that the role of White House press secretary demands," Leavitt wrote.
She described her departure as a "bittersweet decision" and the beginning of a new chapter in her life.
The White House has not yet announced her replacement. During Leavitt's maternity leave, a series of senior administration officials appeared in the briefing room, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The same arrangement is expected to continue for the time being.
Even after officially leaving the White House, Leavitt does not appear to be truly parting ways with Trump.
Instead of speaking on his behalf as the administration's spokeswoman, she is returning to the political arena with a fundraising organization holding hundreds of millions of dollars and the president's explicit promise that she will remain close to him.