United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick publicly praised outgoing White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday, calling her “the most successful Press Secretary in history” in a post on X hours after President Donald Trump announced she would leave her post at the end of August. Lutnick’s tribute, posted at 3:33 p.m. on August 12, 2026, added the Commerce Secretary’s voice to a wave of praise following one of the more significant personnel shifts inside the Trump administration during its second term.
Lutnick’s Full Statement
Lutnick posted the statement on his official X account roughly an hour after Leavitt’s own announcement of her departure went public. His post read in full:
“Karoline Leavitt has been the most successful Press Secretary in history. Always strong, clear and right to the point She has accomplished so much already in her young career, I cannot wait to see where her future takes us. There has been no better spokesperson for President Trump and his Administration. She is a great mother and wife and she will always be a part of this administration. We are all Karoline Leavitt fans!”
Lutnick Frames Leavitt’s Tenure As Historic
In the post, Lutnick placed Leavitt’s tenure above every previous press secretary, describing her as consistently “strong, clear and right to the point” at the podium. He credited her with accomplishing “so much already in her young career,” a reference both to her time behind the podium and to her earlier work on Trump’s political operation before she joined the administration. Lutnick added that he was eager to watch her next move, writing that he “cannot wait to see where her future takes us.”
Commerce Secretary Calls Her Trump’s Best Spokesperson
Lutnick went further than simply praising Leavitt’s performance, stating flatly that “there has been no better spokesperson for President Trump and his Administration.” He closed the post on a personal note, calling Leavitt “a great mother and wife” and pledging that she “will always be a part of this administration,” before ending with a direct show of support: “We are all Karoline Leavitt fans!”
Leavitt’s Departure Confirmed Earlier Wednesday
Lutnick’s post followed Trump’s own announcement earlier Wednesday that Leavitt would depart her post at the end of the month, ending the tenure of the youngest press secretary in American history roughly eighteen months after she first stepped behind the podium. Trump broke the news at 2:34 p.m. in a Truth Social post, writing that 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.” Trump said she “has been one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office.”
Leavitt’s Own Statement On Her Exit
Roughly eight minutes after Trump’s post, at 2:42 p.m., Leavitt confirmed the decision herself on X. “Serving as the White House Press Secretary over the past year and a half has been the honor and adventure of a lifetime,” she wrote, adding that she was “incredibly grateful to President Trump for granting me so many extraordinary opportunities.” She said the decision to step away stemmed from the demands of balancing the job with raising her two young children, writing that she could not “be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary.”
A Shift In Role, Not A Break From Trump’s Orbit
Leavitt made clear in her own statement that her departure from the podium does not mean a departure from Trump’s political operation. “President Trump has asked me to continue serving as a top advisor to him on the outside, and I will always remain a vocal advocate for MAGA and the Republican Party,” she wrote, describing her fight against what she called “an increasingly extremist Democrat Party” as “entering a new phase” rather than ending.
Leavitt’s Rise To The Podium
Leavitt, 28, made history when Trump named her press secretary in November 2024, becoming the youngest person ever to hold the position. Her path ran through Trump’s political operation rather than a traditional press career: she interned in the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence during Trump’s first term, later became its associate director, and served as an assistant White House press secretary starting in June 2020 before joining MAGA Inc. and then Trump’s 2024 campaign as press secretary. She also carries her own electoral history, having been the Republican nominee in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District during the 2022 midterms, a race she lost before rejoining Trump’s team full-time.
Lutnick And Leavitt’s Prior Public Ties
Lutnick’s tribute Wednesday comes against the backdrop of a working relationship in which Leavitt has previously defended the Commerce Secretary publicly. In February 2026, Leavitt was pressed at a White House briefing over Lutnick’s disclosed ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after Lutnick testified before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that he had contact with Epstein later than he had previously acknowledged. Leavitt told reporters at the time that “Secretary Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump’s team, and the president fully supports the secretary.” The exchange grew tense enough that Leavitt ended the briefing shortly after being pressed further on whether the administration’s support for Lutnick had shifted.
Lutnick’s Background As Commerce Secretary
Lutnick has led the Department of Commerce since his Senate confirmation in February 2025. The Senate voted 51-45 to confirm him on February 18, 2025, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats and independents caucusing with Democrats opposed. Before entering public service, Lutnick spent decades as chairman and chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial services firm he joined in 1983, and also led BGC Group and Newmark Group. He served as co-chair of the Trump-Vance Transition Team during the 2024 campaign.
No Successor Named Yet
As of Wednesday afternoon, the White House had not named a successor to take over briefing room duties once Leavitt’s departure takes effect at the end of August. Press briefings had already grown less frequent during a recent stretch of Leavitt’s tenure tied to her maternity leave, with the podium filled on a rotating basis by senior officials including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Context: A War Footing And A Midterm Countdown
Leavitt’s exit lands at a politically and militarily consequential moment for the administration. It follows months of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.-Iran conflict that began February 28, 2026, and its diplomatic resolution through the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding and subsequent ceasefire, as well as roughly three months out from the November midterm elections — a race Trump referenced directly in naming Leavitt a future outside advisor tasked with helping Republicans “conclusively win the Midterm Elections.”
What Comes Next
Lutnick’s post adds to a chorus of tributes from within Trump’s inner circle marking Leavitt’s exit from daily communications duties, even as she is expected to remain a visible presence in Republican politics heading into the midterms. Whether other cabinet officials follow with similar public statements, and who the administration selects to succeed her at the podium, remained unclear as of Wednesday evening.