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Karoline Leavitt plans to exit her role as White House press secretary at the end of the month, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday.

Leavitt is leaving to spend more time with her family, Trump said. She gave birth to a daughter in May, her second child.

Trump posted on Truth Social, “Our wonderful White House Press Secretary, and one of my most trusted aides, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect! Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the Midterm Elections.

He added, “Karoline has been a real leader in the White House, and has done a phenomenal job fighting for Justice, Liberty, and Freedom, since 2018, including our Historic Re-Election Campaign of 2024. Karoline has been one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office. Thank you, Karoline, for a job well done!”

Leavitt wrote in a post on X, “The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary — and that is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life.”

Leavitt has served as press secretary since the start of Trump’s second term, typically holding weekly press briefings that have at times been confrontational with the press corps. She frequently criticized the media in her opening statements, while zealously defending the president and his record and attacking Democrats.

That was evident in her message on X, in which she thanked Trump for “entrusting me with the distinct privilege of speaking on his behalf at the White House podium. I have spoken with great pride about the many historic accomplishments of this Administration, and I have relished holding the liberal media accountable and ensuring the American people hear the truth about President Trump’s successes.” She also warned that the country was “facing an existential threat from an increasingly extremist Democrat Party that seeks to destroy everything great about America.”

No successor has been named. When she was on maternity leave, various administration figures including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent led the briefings.

Trump himself has answered questions from the media in Oval Office availabilities or on his way to Marine One, and has taken calls directly from reporters who have his personal cell phone number.

Leavitt. 28, is the youngest person to serve as press secretary. She served as an assistant press secretary in the first term, made an unsuccessful bid for Congress and served as press secretary in the 2024 campaign.

During her tenure, the White House seized control of the make up of the press pool from the White House Correspondents’ Association, a private group of journalists who had for years assigned reporters to the daily task. The administration also barred the Associated Press from the pool after the news service did not switch references after Trump changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. A federal judge ruled that the restrictions on the AP violated the First Amendment; an appellate decision is pending.

UPDATED: The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee wants Paramount CEO to sit for a transcribed interview to answer questions on its proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

The letter from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) is just the latest that Democrats have sent to Ellison, as they amplify their criticisms and opposition to the transaction. In the letter, Raskin cited changes Ellison has made to CBS News and potential changes if Paramount gains control of CNN, accusing the CEO of “colluding with President Trump and his administration to curtail media independence.” The letter referred to a Wall Street Journal report from December, citing unnamed sources, that Ellison offered “assurances to Trump administration officials that if he bought Warner, he’d make sweeping changes to CNN.”

Later on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount has discussed creating an editorial board for CNN when the merger closes. That move would be to try to alleviate concerns over the editorial independence of the network.

Ellison last week published an op ed in The New York Times defending the proposed merger and claiming that the opposition is fueled by concerns over what will happen to CNN.

In his op ed, Ellison wrote that news organizations require independence, while he said that CNN and CBS News, which Paramount already owns, “are here to tell it straight down the middle.”

Responding to the report of a potential editorial board for CNN, a Paramount spokesperson said in a statement, “We always remain open to internal improvements to journalistic integrity. However, as we have maintained, using state powers to try to control speech would threaten the protections guaranteed by the First Amendment.”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading a dozen state attorneys general who are challenging the merger, has denied that CNN is the reason for the lawsuit and has said that a settlement would require structural remedies that would mitigate concerns over the merger’s impact on competition.

An editorial board would be unique for a major television news network, and much would depend on the make up of its members. When Skydance sought regulatory approval to purchase Paramount last year, it committed to hiring an ombudsman to take complaints about the news division. The person hired in the role, Kenneth Weinstein, formerly led the conservative Hudson Institute.

In his letter, Raskin also raised antitrust concerns, while noting the ongoing state AGs’ lawsuit.

Raskin wrote in the letter, “Last week, in a New York Times op-ed, you pledged to tell your story and stay silent ‘no more.’ This is great news. Over the past 12 months, I have sent you four letters. You have responded to none of them. Now that you have vowed to break your long silence, I invite you to a transcribed interview to tell Congress and America your story and answer the Committee’s questions about your Donald Trump-enabled shopping spree to consolidate news organizations, movie studios, cable channels, and streaming services.”

He gave Ellison until August 26 to schedule an interview.

As the minority party, Democrats cannot compel Ellison to testify. But Raskin and others have suggested that Paramount and other mergers would be under scrutiny should the party regain control of one or more houses of Congress.

At a Politico event on Tuesday, Paramount’s chief legal officer Makan Delrahim said, “You can allege all you want. There is no corruption here.” He said that they would be “happy to engage with” Raskin and “provide him, as we have, with information.”

“We respect his role and his important role in oversight,” Delrahim said. “But just because he said so doesn’t mean that there’s any corruption.”

CNN first reported on Raskin’s letter.

The Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee held a hearing in February on Netflix’s plans to merge with WBD, with co-CEO Ted Sarandos appearing before lawmakers, weeks before the streamer dropped its bid amid Paramount’s counteroffer. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said that he invited Ellison to participate in that hearing, but he declined.

Two media groups filed suit against Donald Trump over a new offering in which subscribers can pay up to $100,000 a month for quicker access to his announcements on Truth Social.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Wednesday, the Freedom of the Press Foundation and The Intercept Media claim that the “scheme is profoundly corrupt.”

“The President stands to gain financially by giving ‘market-moving’ government information to those who are willing and able to pay his personal company,” the lawsuit stated.

They also contend that the service violates the First Amendment, noting that it “guarantees equal access to the President’s public announcements, and even content-neutral burdens on that access must be narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest. There is no legitimate interest, let alone a significant one, in permitting President Trump to profit from selling government information.”

The lawsuit also claims violation of the Fifth Amendment, arguing that it prohibits “charging unreasonable sums that cannot be justified to offset the cost of the government benefit.”

The service is called Trump API, billed as offering the fastest access to the highest-ranking accounts on Truth Social, potentially giving an advantage to traders for the market-moving information.It was pitched as a business-to-business offering for institutional customers.

The Intercept argued that the service forces it to make an “unconstitutional choice: either subsidize and associate with the President’s private company, harming The Intercept’s finances, reputation, and legal security, or risk losing out on timely news to competing organizations, similarly harming its reputation and revenue.”

The lawsuit seeks an injunction to halt the posting of exclusive government information on Truth Social, as well as a declaration that it is unconstitutional.

Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are two of the president’s top aides, Natalie Harp and Dan Scavino.

A White House spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.

Trump Media and Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, has viewed Truth API as a long-term recurring revenue stream. TMTG this week reported a $238 million net loss in the most recent quarter, on revenue of $1.7 million.

A TMTG spokesperson said, “Information from President Trump is disseminated by countless platforms and news outlets, many of which offer subscription APIs. One of those channels is Truth Social, which was founded as an uncancellable haven for free speech after the President was unjustly deplatformed. Now, left-wing activists are trying to wrongfully weaponize the courts to censor him again and harm our shareholders.”

In an earnings call, TMTG Interim CEO Kevin McGurn told investors that they have signed more than 10 customer agreements to date, primarily to high-frequency trading firms at rates ranging from $60,000- $100,000 per month.