Karoline Leavitt is set on Tuesday to preside over her first briefing with reporters as press secretary for President Trump’s White House.
Leavitt was Trump’s top spokesperson along the 2024 campaign trail and has been one of his chief messengers during the early days of his second administration.
Live: White House press briefing
Here are four things to know about Leavitt ahead of her first briefing.
Leavitt is the youngest person to ever serve in the role
Leavitt, 27, is the youngest person to hold the position of press secretary since Ron Ziegler, who worked as President Nixon’s top press official and was 29 when he was hired.
She was widely viewed as the favorite to land the press secretary gig.
Several former Trump officials told The Hill after she was hired that Leavitt was the obvious choice, given her record defending Trump on the campaign trail and close relationship with the president.
On Tuesday, she will be tasked with defending a flood of executive orders and actions handed down during Trump’s first week in office and promoting the administration’s agenda before what is expected to be a widely televised audience.
Leavitt has teased a briefing room shake up
Like other top allies of the president, Leavitt has suggested the White House could change the way business in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room is conducted or who gets to ask questions during press conferences.
Leavitt has said during a number of media appearances she looks forward to taking questions from mainstream media reporters and will not be shy about pushing back on assertions or premises she disagrees with.
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“We hope there will be decorum, certainly, and we will try to instill that,” she said during a Fox News appearance last month. “But we’re not shy of the hostile media.”
Leavitt worked in Trump’s first White House
Before joining Trump’s 2024 campaign, Leavitt was a top aide to Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), another Trump ally whom he chose to serve as ambassador to the United Nations.
Leavitt served as a press aide and speechwriter for Trump during his first administration under former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who is now a Fox News host. McEnany has spoken glowingly about Leavitt’s fitness for the role.
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On Tuesday, Leavitt will find herself in the national spotlight as Trump’s presidency enters its second week.
Leavitt ran for Congress
After working in Trump’s first White House, Leavitt ran an unsuccessful 2022 campaign for New Hampshire’s 1st District, after winning a contested GOP primary.
A pro-life Catholic who echoed much of Trump’s “America First” messaging as she ran for office, Leavitt is closely aligned with the priorities of the new administration and is seen as one of the faces of a new movement of Trump-friendly figures in media and politics.
Her first briefing with reporters comes as the White House looks to secure funding from Congress on a number of key issues like immigration and the economy.
