Leavitt takes last questions before going on maternity leave oan

OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
4:44 PM – Friday, April 24, 2026

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt held her final press gaggle before departing on maternity leave to welcome her second child. Following a spirited exchange with reporters, she stepped away from the podium to prepare for the new addition to her family.

“This will likely be my last gaggle for some time, as you can see,” she told reporters on Friday, before looking down at her stomach. “I’m about ready to have a baby any minute, so I will see you guys very soon.”

In an exclusive interview with Fox News the day after Christmas, Leavitt had revealed that she and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, were expecting their second child and first baby girl.

Leavitt welcomed her first-born son while she was working as a campaign spokesperson for President Donald Trump. On “The Megyn Kelly Show,” she explained that the July assassination attempt on Trump “threw” her back into work “much sooner than [she] would have expected or hoped.”

Ultimately, she returned to work just four days after her son’s birth.

“I am also extremely grateful to President Trump and our Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for their support, and for fostering a pro-family environment in the White House,” she said in a December social media post, announcing news of her expected baby girl.

At just 27-years-old, Karoline Leavitt became the youngest person in U.S. history to serve as White House press secretary. Now 28, she continues to break barriers by balancing the intense demands of the briefing room with her final weeks of pregnancy.

As her May due date approaches, she stands as a rare example of a press secretary serving in the role while expecting, marking a high-profile moment for working mothers in the executive branch.

While her exact return date remains unannounced, Leavitt is eligible for the standard benefits afforded to federal employees. Under the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act (FEPLA), she is generally entitled to 12 weeks of paid parental leave, which was established as a benefit for federal workers to ensure they can care for a new child without sacrificing their salary.

“I know you’ll be in very good hands with my team here at the White House, and I know all of you have the president’s phone number personally, so I have no doubt that you will have no shortage of statements and news from this building while I’m gone,” she joked on Friday.

 

Last month, Semafor published a report highlighting how Trump’s personal cell phone number had become an open secret among the Washington press corps, being described as Washington’s “worst-kept secret.” While a president’s personal contact information is typically a high-level security asset, Trump’s number had circulated so widely that it was virtually accessible to any determined journalist.

No individual staffer is expected to replace Leavitt during her absence, but a rotation of White House staffers will fill in until she returns.

In a post on X, she encouraged users to follow the members of her team who will be providing updates in her absence, tagging 11 staffers’ X profiles.