April 24 (UPI) — White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt held her last press gaggle on Friday before starting maternity leave, as she is expected to give birth to her daughter some time next week.
Leavitt is due in early May, though she noted that she will be at the White House Press Correspondents Association Dinner on Saturday evening in Washington, D.C., USA Today reported.
The White House told NewsNation that it will not formally replace Leavitt during her leave, but rather will have a variety of administration officials handle her official press briefings.
“This will likely be my last gaggle for some time,” Leavitt told reporters.
“As you can see, I’m about to have a baby any minute, so I will see you guys very soon,” she said.
Leavitt announced in December that she and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, were pregnant with a daughter, and said after Christmas that she is “so excited to be a girl mom!”
There has been no indication how long of a leave Leavitt, 28, will take, but The Hill reported that federal employees across the government earn 12 weeks of paid parental leave.
Among those expected to show up in the briefing room are likely to be members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet, Vice President JD Vance and possibly Trump himself.
“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,” Leavitt said to reporters on Friday, joking about how many reporters have Trump’s phone number.
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