By Betsy Klein, CNN
(CNN) — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt returned to the podium with little fanfare Thursday, giving her first full briefing to reporters since she went on maternity leave at the end of April.
“Let’s get back to work,” she said as she kicked off her remarks.
Back to business. No fuss.
Leavitt’s first question came from an independent journalist, who asked her to share her secret to “having it all” as a working mom of two children that are two years old and under.
“I don’t think there is a secret. You just have to show up every day and keep going,” Leavitt said, thanking her husband, who, she added, is “home with our babies right now.”
More contentious topics followed, including President Donald Trump’s upcoming speech on election integrity, Iran and the economy.
Leavitt served in a junior role in the president’s first term but has emerged as one of his most effective and loyal spokespeople during his second. She has cultivated a personal brand as a pit bull for the president and his policies, tussling with reporters who ask tough questions and welcoming friendlier outlets.
Behind the microphone and on social media, she has also presented herself as a devoted wife and working mom, toting toddler son Niko to Air Force One and the Oval Office, posing for photos with her husband at the White House Easter Egg Roll and Halloween celebrations, baking an apple pie from scratch, and basking in newborn snuggles.
As is often true of social media, the images belie her demanding job.
“It’s challenging. But for me, I view this as more than job — I view this as public service,” she said Thursday.
When Leavitt’s first child was born in July 2024, she took just a four-day maternity leave, returning to the campaign trail the day after then-candidate Trump was the victim of an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
This time around, now-President Trump was the target of an assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner just days before Leavitt gave birth to daughter Viviana. She held an impromptu briefing to address the shooting incident and its fallout the following Monday, April 27, before re-starting her leave.
In her absence, White House press briefings became significantly less frequent. The press shop stacked the lectern with top officials in guest star appearances with varying levels of success.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio went first, declaring the combat stage of the United States’ operation in Iran “over” on May 5.
Vice President JD Vance made a pair of appearances: on May 19, when he was grilled on the administration’s proposed $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, and on June 18, when he highlighted a memorandum of understanding with Iran that has since deteriorated.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also took a turn, fielding inquiries about the Iran conflict, the economy, and efforts to put the president’s face on US currency.
And when it was his turn to meet the press, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz was repeatedly pressed on news that the president had tapped Bill Pulte, a housing official, as acting director of national intelligence. Oz, a former television personality, told reporters he knew Pulte “socially,” but declined to weigh in further while speaking for the White House.
Leavitt has been spotted on the White House campus and Fox News over the last few weeks in the lead-up to her podium return, traveling to Mount Rushmore with the president but skipping a multi-day international trip to the NATO Summit in Turkey.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Netwo