President Donald Trump said his administration has received a flood of applications to replace outgoing White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, while publicly praising conservative commentator Scott Jennings as a possible candidate for the job.
Trump discussed the search while speaking with reporters before boarding Air Force One this week, days after Leavitt announced that she would leave the White House at the end of August.
Asked who might take over the high-profile position, Trump initially joked with members of the press.
“Maybe you, maybe you,” Trump said while gesturing toward reporters.
One reporter then asked whether Trump would consider Jennings, the conservative political commentator who frequently appears on CNN.
“Scott Jennings is good,” Trump responded.
Trump did not say whether Jennings has formally applied for the position or whether the White House has held discussions with him about joining the administration.
The president said there has been no shortage of people interested in succeeding Leavitt.
“I have never had so many job applications in my life,” Trump said.
Leavitt, who was standing nearby, agreed with the president.
“They all want that job, they love that job,” Trump continued. “She’s made that job very glamorous.”
Leavitt, 28, announced last week that she would step down after concluding that the demands of serving as White House press secretary were becoming increasingly difficult to balance with raising her two young children.
She returned from maternity leave July 16 after giving birth to her daughter in May. Leavitt also has a 2-year-old son with her husband, Nicholas Riccio.
“Being a mother and welcoming a new baby while working in one of the most demanding jobs in the world has been the most rewarding yet challenging season of my life,” Leavitt said when announcing her departure.
She said that after returning to work, she concluded she could not devote the necessary attention to both her children and the responsibilities of serving as the president’s chief spokesperson.
“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,” she said.
Trump publicly supported Leavitt’s decision, calling it one he “totally” understood and respected.
He described Leavitt as “one of the best White House press secretaries in the history of the office” and said she would continue working with him as an outside adviser and remain involved in Republican politics, per the Daily Mail.
Leavitt became the youngest White House press secretary in history when she assumed the position at age 27 following Trump’s return to the White House.
She had previously served as an assistant White House press secretary during Trump’s first administration and later became press secretary for his 2024 presidential campaign.
