It’s become Washington’s hottest new parlor game: Who will be Karoline Leavitt’s successor?
Names started circulating at dinner tables and over text chains after President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday his press secretary’s plans to depart at the end of the month to spend more time with her young family, upending his press operation with less than three months until the midterm elections.
For a president who believes he’s his own best spokesperson, replacing Leavitt — who took a proactive, public-facing role but also became one of his most trusted advisers — will be a challenge.
“She is one of one. Nobody will ever be able to do what she did,” White House communications director Steven Cheung told CNN in a text message Thursday.
It was not immediately clear to some White House staff who would fill the role, a source told CNN. One source close to the White House suggested the president might not name a replacement until after the midterms, while some predicted the role might stay unfilled for the duration of Trump’s two and a half years left in office.
