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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Thursday that she and her husband have welcomed a baby girl, sharing the news on social media.
Leavitt said her daughter, Viviana, was born May 1.
“On May 1st, Viviana aka ‘Vivi’ joined our family, and our hearts instantly exploded with love,” she wrote. “She is perfect and healthy, and her big brother is joyfully adjusting to life with his new baby sister.”
Leavitt recently stepped away from her White House duties for maternity leave ahead of the birth. She and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, also have a son, Niko, born in 2024.
“We are enjoying every moment in our blissful newborn bubble,” she added. “Thank you to everyone who reached out with prayers during my pregnancy — I truly felt them throughout the entire experience. God is Good.”
During her absence, Secretary of State Marco Rubio fielded questions from reporters at the White House, at one point joking about the briefing room’s fast-paced atmosphere.
“This is chaos, guys,” Rubio said.
Politico’s White House bureau chief Dasha Burns reported that Leavitt will not be replaced, but that various substitutes will brief the press.
“No one will be filling in for Leavitt formally during her leave — but the comms shop is planning to have some familiar faces at the podium to brief the press, including VP JD Vance, Cabinet officials or even Trump himself,” Burns said.
Leavitt previously announced her pregnancy in a December Instagram post.
Leavitt, who also has a son Niko, 21 months, first announced the news of her pregnancy back in December on Instagram. In the pictures, Leavitt could be seen posing in front of the Christmas tree in a white sweater dress, holding her stomach.
“The greatest Christmas gift we could ever ask for – a baby girl coming in May 2026.☺️,” Leavitt wrote at the time. “My husband and I are thrilled to grow our family and can’t wait to watch our son become a big brother. My heart is overflowing with gratitude to God for the blessing of motherhood, which I truly believe is the closest thing to Heaven on Earth. 🥹.”
