Secretary of State Marco Rubio has expressed eagerness for White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to return from maternity leave, after he substituted for her at the podium during a recent press briefing.
Rubio's Temporary Role
Leavitt, who has served as press secretary since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, began maternity leave on April 27. Her daughter, Viviana, was born on May 1 to Leavitt, 28, and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, 60. The couple’s son, Nicholas, known as “Niko,” will turn two in July.
Rubio stepped in for Leavitt at a lively press briefing on May 5, where he fielded questions from reporters for nearly an hour. Speaking to Fox News anchor Sean Hannity aboard Air Force One on Wednesday, as he traveled with Trump to China for a summit with President Xi Jinping, Rubio praised Leavitt.
“Karoline is irreplaceable... I was just a pinch-hitter,” Rubio said. “We can't wait until Karoline gets back.”
Leavitt's Maternity Leave Duration
Leavitt has not announced when she will return from maternity leave. According to The Washington Post, she plans to take a longer break than she did after the birth of her son in 2024, which occurred just three days before an attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, cutting short her leave as campaign press secretary.
A White House official told the Post last week that the length of Leavitt’s maternity leave “is still to be determined.” The Independent has sought updates on the matter.
Rubio's Additional Duties
During the interview, Hannity joked that moonlighting as press secretary was not the first additional White House role Rubio had taken on. “It seemed like you were having fun,” Hannity said. Rubio replied, “Well, yeah, I don’t know if I’d have fun if I had to do it every week.”
Last year, Rubio began overseeing the White House National Security Council after a reshuffle of Trump’s top advisers, prompted in part by an embarrassing Signal chat scandal that exposed details of military operations. Rubio’s predecessor, Mike Waltz, accidentally added a reporter to a text chain containing non-public information about imminent strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, leading to a negative media cycle for the White House. Waltz was reassigned as Trump’s United Nations ambassador, and Rubio assumed his role.
Historic Firsts
Leavitt is the first White House press secretary to give birth while in office, according to The Washington Post. Rubio, meanwhile, is the first Secretary of State since Henry Kissinger to serve in dual roles at the State Department and as Trump’s national security adviser.
Leavitt last made a brief public appearance at the White House alongside other members of the president’s team on April 25, two days before starting her leave. Earlier that night, she attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton, where a gunman attempted to storm the gala to assassinate Trump officials but was thwarted by law enforcement.
