Contenders Circle as Trump Weighs Leavitt Successor

Who is being floated, and by whom

The New York Post, as summarized by The Right Scoop, reported that White House communications director Steven Cheung is a leading contender. Cheung helped cover some of Leavitt's responsibilities while she was on maternity leave. The Post also listed principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly, senior communications official Taylor Rogers, assistant press secretary Liz Huston and longtime Trump aide Margo Martin.

TIME's list, citing the Post's reporting, put former Trump lawyer Alina Habba and Breitbart Washington bureau chief Matthew Boyle as early frontrunners, and added CNN commentator Scott Jennings — described by the Daily Beast's sources as the current frontrunner — along with Kelly, former Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, conservative podcaster Katie Miller and Cheung.

CNN said about a dozen names emerged from its conversations with communicators and advisers in Trump's orbit: Jennings, Habba, Kelly, McLaughlin, former RNC spokesperson Elizabeth Pipko, chief of protocol Monica Crowley, Kennedy Center communications director Roma Daravi, Lara Trump, longtime Trump communicator Jason Miller, former principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields and former ESPN anchor Sage Steele. CNN said the White House downplayed any shortlist as speculation, and that CNN had not confirmed whether Trump is considering any of them or whether they want the job.

The betting market is already moving

Raw Story, citing the Daily Beast, reported that the prediction market Kalshi is taking bets on the job. As of Thursday, per that reporting, Jennings led at 29 percent, Kelly sat at 17 percent and Habba at 16 percent, with a field of long shots below them — including Natalie Harp, the 35-year-old personal aide who prints out articles for Trump to read and posts on his behalf on Truth Social, at 5 percent. The Daily Beast noted Harp has never spoken publicly about her White House role.

The numbers move by the hour, and different outlets caught different snapshots. The New York Post, via The Right Scoop, reported Kalshi odds as of Wednesday afternoon with Kelly on top and Cheung at 13 percent. CNN reported that Kalshi Politics ranked Habba, Kelly, Jason Miller and Daravi at the top of its list Thursday morning; CNN disclosed it has a partnership with Kalshi and bars its editorial staff from using prediction markets.

A press shop without an heir apparent

CNN reported, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter, that the timing of Leavitt's decision caught Trump and the White House off guard — before the birth of her second child in May, she had privately suggested she might stay for the full term. One source familiar told CNN that Leavitt did not build a pipeline of talent in her press shop, saying, "The team didn't really get the latitude to be seen as heir apparent."

Where the coverage splits

Reporting agrees on the facts and divides on the frame. Fox News gathered White House correspondents praising her tenure as she exits. PennLive reported on the family calculation, including the claim that Trump's constant calls during her maternity leave helped push her toward the door — "She realized she wasn't feeling it anymore." Left-leaning outlets treated the exit as a shake-up of Trump's press operation and a moment to relitigate her record: Daily Kos ran a look back at what it called her "legacy of lies and propaganda."