Former Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt joins Fox News

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Karoline Leavitt, the tenacious former Trump White House press secretary, is joining Fox News as a contributor.

The network announced Monday that Leavitt, 29, known for her rapid-fire defense of Trump’s policies in the White House briefing room, will be delivering commentary and analysis across Fox News programs starting Nov. 1.

Leavitt joins a long line of former White House secretaries who have made the jump to TV news punditry. Her predecessor Kayleigh McEnany is a co-host on the daytime Fox News chat show “Outnumbered” and hosts her own Saturday program.

Jen Psaki, landed her own program on MS NOW in 2023 after two years behind the briefing room lectern for President Biden.

Leavitt joins Fox News at a time when President Donald Trump has been irritable over negative press coverage as his favorability ratings with the public are at an all-time low. He briefly banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House until a federal judge stepped in.

Trump has complained about Fox News coverage as well, although the opinion hosts on the conservative-leaning network have continued to defend him. Leavitt will likely give the president another robust advocate on the channel he often watches.

Trump has hired Fox News personalities for his cabinet as well, naming former weekend host Pete Hegseth as his defense secretary and Jeanine Pirro, a one-time co-host of “The Five,” as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

“Karoline’s first hand experience in the White House and on the presidential campaign trail gives her a distinct understanding of today’s political landscape,” Fox News Media Chief Executive Suzanne Scott said in a statement.

As president of White House Correspondents Assn., Jacqui Heinrich goes to bat for the 1st Amendment rights of her competitors.

Leavitt served in Trump’s second administration from Jan. 2025 until Aug. 2026. She was the youngest person in American history to hold the White House press secretary position. She departed her role after returning from maternity leave, saying she would continue to promote the Republican party and the issues important to Trump’s MAGA followers.

Prior to joining the White House, Leavitt served as national press secretary for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. She ran for Congress in her home state of New Hampshire in 2022 and served as communications director for then-House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY).

Leavitt also served as an assistant White House press secretary during Trump’s first term.

In her time as press secretary, Leavitt created a “new media” briefing room seat, often filled by conservative commentators and pro-Trump social media influencers.

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Stephen Battaglio writes about television and the media business for the Los Angeles Times out of New York. His coverage of the television industry has appeared in TV Guide, the New York Daily News, the New York Times, Fortune, the Hollywood Reporter, Inside.com and Adweek. He is also the author of three books about television, including a biography of pioneer talk show host and producer David Susskind.

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