Vice President JD Vance is set to take over the White House podium Thursday as President Donald Trump continues searching for a permanent replacement for former press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“Vice President @JDVance will take the podium tomorrow at 1:00 PM,” the White House Press Office announced Wednesday evening.
The appearance will mark the administration’s first formal White House press briefing in more than 40 days—and its first since Leavitt stepped down last week.
The last briefing was held on July 23, shortly after Leavitt returned from maternity leave. During her roughly two-and-a-half-month absence, Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other senior administration officials took turns answering questions from reporters.
Vance last led a briefing on June 18, when he filled in for Leavitt and joked that he agreed to help only if she would temporarily take over his job when his wife gave birth.
“I told Karoline I would stand in for her today for the White House press briefing, on the condition that when Usha has our baby in July, that she would be vice president for a couple of weeks,” Vance said at the time, according to Scripps News.
Thursday’s briefing comes as the Trump administration faces major questions at home and abroad—and as speculation continues to swirl over who will become the next face of the White House.
Who Will Replace Leavitt?
Trump has not appeared to be in a rush to name Leavitt’s successor.
“I have never seen so many job applications in my life,” Trump told reporters in August, according to The Hill.
CNN conservative commentator Scott Jennings, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly, Breitbart Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle, Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley and longtime Trump aide Margo Martin have all been mentioned as possible contenders.
Trump publicly praised Jennings as “good” when asked about his potential candidacy and jokingly floated Martin for the job. However, a senior administration official told the New York Post that the search remained an “open book.”
Former Trump attorney Alina Habba was also widely rumored to be a leading contender, but she publicly denied that she was seeking the position.
Until Trump makes his decision, the administration could continue relying on a rotating group of Cabinet officials and senior aides to handle formal briefings. Leavitt said on her final day that Trump remains “his own best spokesperson.”
Leavitt left the demanding West Wing position to spend more time with her two young children. She has since joined Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC and is expected to remain one of the president’s top outside advisers.
Vance’s return to the briefing room now gives the administration one of its most prominent—and closely watched—messengers as Trump weighs who should permanently take Leavitt’s place.
