{"id":6470,"date":"2026-08-13T05:39:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T05:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6470"},"modified":"2026-08-13T05:39:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T05:39:12","slug":"california-native-emerges-as-possible-replacement-for-white-house-press-secretary-karoline-leavitt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6470","title":{"rendered":"California native emerges as possible replacement for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

One of the leading contenders to replace departing White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is a California native who once worked for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.<\/p>\n

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Pundits say a natural fit for the role would be Steven Cheung, who is already serving as the White House communications director. Cheung helped oversee some of Leavitt\u2019s responsibilities while she was away on maternity leave.<\/p>\n

Cheung, a longtime Trump adviser and spokesman known for his combative defense of the president, was born in Sacramento to Chinese immigrant parents. He attended California State University, Sacramento to study political science.<\/p>\n

As a student, his communications career began as an intern to former Gov. Schwarzenegger. He later worked for a variety of political campaigns before landing a role with Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2013.<\/p>\n

Since 2016, Cheung\u2019s career has all been with Trump. The president even nicknamed him \u201cLuca Brasi,\u201d a ruthless enforcer who serves a mafia boss in the movie \u201cThe Godfather,\u201d according to the book \u201cRegime Change.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Leavitt\u2019s announcement, Cheung posted a photo of the pair together and praised her \u201cjob well done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKaroline has been the best teammate. She is fiercely loyal, unflappable, and a great person who serves the President with honor,\u201d he wrote on X. \u201cAlthough this is a sad day, we\u2019re so happy for her and her family.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Leavitt, 28, a mother of two and the youngest ever White House press secretary,\u00a0gave birth to her second child,\u00a0Viviana,\u00a0in May\u00a0and had officially returned from maternity leave last month. She said she was leaving to spend more time to her children.<\/p>\n

Other names being floated to replace Leavitt include Anna Kelly, the White House principal deputy press secretary, and Taylor Rogers, a senior communications official who previously worked on Trump\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Assistant Press Secretary Liz Huston and longtime Trump aide Margo Martin, one of the president\u2019s closest communications advisers, could also be promoted to the role.<\/p>\n

White House press secretaries have traditionally been drawn from within the administration\u2019s communications team.<\/p>\n

On predictions site Kalshi, Cheung was given a 13% chance to succeed Leavitt as of Wednesday afternoon. Bettors predicted that only Kelly and Alina Habba, a former personal lawyer for Trump, had higher odds, at 74% and 21%, respectively.<\/p>\n

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Karoline Leavitt is leaving as White House press secretary, with Donald Trump adviser Steven Cheung reportedly among potential replacements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media"],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia native emerges as possible replacement for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6470\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California native emerges as possible replacement for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt - 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