Foul-mouthed pundit tops list to replace fleeing White House press secretary: sources
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt could be replaced by a controversial CNN pundit known for hurling expletives on air, according to a new report.
Scott Jennings, a Trump supporter on the news network, is at the top of the list for the job, sources told the Daily Beast.
Leavitt's announcement came as a shock as the 28-year-old had just returned after having her second child with her 60-year-old husband, and that has the ground shifting at the White House.
Jennings has a "history of working in public relations" and served in the George W. Bush administration as a special assistant to the president and deputy director of political affairs.
He also previously worked as an adviser to Sen. Mitch McConnell and worked on several of the Kentucky Republican's re-election campaigns, the Beast reported.
Jennings has faced rebuke for on-air antics that include snapping “Get your [expletive] hand out of my face" and making claims his colleagues admit frankly not to believe.
Off air, Jennings has been accused of privately "trashing Trump."
When asked directly during a Wednesday night appearance on CNN's NewsNight if he was throwing his hat into the ring to replace Leavitt, Jennings remained noncommittal, according to the report.
"Karoline Leavitt has been maybe the greatest White House press secretary in the last 30 years, at least. She's been nothing short of brilliant," Jennings demurred. "I don't know a single Republican in the country who isn't in awe of and in appreciation of Karoline tonight. So Godspeed on your journey back to your family. You've done great stuff."
Numerous other names are believed to be in the running to replace Leavitt.
Alina Habba, Trump's former defense attorney who briefly was U.S. attorney for New Jersey before being booted out of office, is considered a strong candidate, according to the New York Post. Habba served as Trump's de facto press secretary during his New York civil fraud trial in 2024.
Other names being floated by the New York Post, include deputy press secretary Anna Kelly, a former beauty pageant winner who also served as national press secretary for the Republican National Committee. Two-time Arizona election loser Kari Lake and Katie Miller, the wife of top White House aide Stephen Miller and a former aide at Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are also being considered as potential replacements.