Vice President J.D. Vance had to know he had big shoes to fill.
Taking the podium of the White House media briefing on the first day since former press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s departure, Vance took advantage of the first question to praise the 29-year-old’s performance in the critical communications role.
And he even offered a message to the mother of two, if she was watching at home (though he said he hoped she wasn’t).
.@VP opens his press briefing by paying tribute to @karolineleavitt — the greatest Press Secretary in White House history! pic.twitter.com/UatSH15J8A
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 3, 2026
Leavitt, he said, is an “amazing person, an amazing mom, was an amazing colleague here at the White House.”
His words came as a response to a question from Breitbart News’ Nick Gilbertson, who asked Vance about the administration’s plans to continue Leavitt’s “legacy” of opening up White House briefings to more media outlets outside of the established giants of the industry.
Vance first discussed Leavitt herself.
She “was not just a person who stood up here and answered your questions — and did so admirably,” he told the White House press corps.
“But was also just an amazing part of the very cohesive team that we had working here in the West Wing.”
He said Leavitt had texted him in the morning to wish him luck in what he called the “very dangerous business” of fielding questions from all comers.
“She’s gonna do great in whatever she does next, and we’re very grateful to her,” he said.
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“So, Karoline, if you’re watching — which hopefully you’re not — but if you’re watching, thank you for your service, thank you for your friendship, and thanks for doing a great job.”
Leavitt announced her resignation as press secretary Aug. 12, three months after the birth of her second child.
Her full-time replacement has not been announced.
When she assumed the job in January 2025 at the age of 27, she was the youngest press secretary in the nation’s history, but that didn’t stop her from making a big impact.
Right out of the gate, a “new media” seat was added to the White House briefing room, as The New York Times reported at the time. Rather than one of the Big Three networks, a major newspaper, or The Associated Press, it was reserved for “professional journalists and others, including podcasters, influencers and other creators of ‘news-related content,’” according to The New York Times report.
Whoever sits in that seat gets to ask the first question during briefings.
In another major move, in February 2025, Leavitt fannounced that the White House would be taking control of the makeup of the White House press pool, breaking what she called the “monopoly” held by the White House Correspondents Association.
“This administration is shaking up Washington in more ways than one. That is what we were elected to do,” Leavitt said at the time.
“A select group of D.C.-based journalists should no longer have a monopoly over the privilege of press access at the White House,” she added.
As Vance went on to answer the question at Thursday’s briefing, he said Leavitt’s commitment to opening White House briefings to “non-legacy media” would continue.
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“For too long, this room, and I think this city, have tried to lock out non-legacy media. They see it as a threat to themselves,” he said.
“And we actually think it’s an amazing way to democratize access to information. You should not have to have a fancy credential or a lot of money to tell a story to the American people.”
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