WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (DC Times Online) — President Donald Trump has not announced a successor to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, leaving the administration’s public communications operation without a confirmed leader less than three weeks before her reported departure.
Trump announced on Aug. 12 that Leavitt would leave the post at the end of August. Leavitt has said she is leaving to spend more time with her family and young children.
The White House press secretary is the administration’s main public spokesperson. The job includes leading press briefings, answering questions about the president’s policies and decisions, and communicating the White House position to the news media.
No formal nomination, offer or selection process has been publicly confirmed. Reports citing unnamed administration or White House sources say Trump had not made a final decision as of Aug. 13.
Who is being discussed?
Several current and former administration officials, media figures and political allies have been mentioned as possible replacements. Their names reflect speculation, not confirmed candidacies.
Alina Habba and Matthew Boyle have been described in reports as early or leading possibilities. Habba has served as a legal and political figure in Trump’s orbit. Boyle is the Washington bureau chief of Breitbart.
Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, is also among the names being discussed. Other administration-connected figures mentioned include Anna Kelly, the White House principal deputy press secretary; Katie Miller, a former press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence; and Taylor Budowich, a former White House deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel who reportedly left the administration for the private sector last September.
Stephen Miller, a senior Trump adviser, has also been included among the names circulated in reports, though the supplied information does not show that he has been formally considered or contacted for the job.
Scott Jennings, a political commentator, has been described in one report as a frontrunner based on unnamed sources. Other names circulated include Monica Crowley, Kari Lake, Jason Miller, Taylor Rogers, Liz Huston, Margo Martin, Roma Daravi, Lara Trump, Natalie Harp and Sage Steele.
The reports do not agree on who is leading. That difference matters because none of the reported rankings comes from a public White House selection announcement.
What does the prediction market show?
Kalshi, a prediction market, listed Roma Daravi as the leading possibility at a 24% chance, according to the Daily Beast. The market listed Lara Trump and Natalie Harp at 23% and Habba and Kelly at 22%.
Those figures are market estimates, not government information. They do not show that Trump has selected, interviewed or offered the job to any candidate.
Sage Steele, another name mentioned in reports, denied that she was seeking the position. In a social-media statement cited by The Telegraph, Steele said: “It’s definitely fake news! I haven’t had a single conversation with anyone about that job, and have no desire to do so.”
What happens next?
Leavitt is expected to remain in the role through the end of August, according to reports about Trump’s announcement. Until the White House names a successor, it is unclear whether Trump will choose someone already working in the communications operation or bring in an outside ally.
The available information does not establish whether any of the people named in reports has been formally interviewed, contacted, nominated or offered the position. The White House also has not publicly described a formal process for choosing Leavitt’s replacement.
That leaves the immediate effect limited to uncertainty inside the White House communications operation. The person eventually chosen will inherit responsibility for explaining the administration’s policies, handling press briefings and serving as its most visible daily voice from Washington, DC.
