WASHINGTON — Karoline Leavitt is up at 5 a.m. every day. She’s reading the news immediately, catching up with whatever President Donald Trump may have “Truthed” during the wee hours of the night, equipping herself to take on the reporters of the United States (and beyond) in the day ahead. She’ll get a workout in if she can. And if her son Niko wakes up in time, she gets to spend time with her little guy before she heads to the White House.
“I do really try to prioritize returning home for bedtime,” she shared in an interview with The Daily Wire. “I savor that time — eating dinner together, doing tubby, doing book time, and then putting him down every night is a priority for me.”
“That’s actually advice I was given by my predecessor Sarah Sanders, who encouraged me to set that boundary. Of course it’s not possible every night,” she added. “There are national security crises, real challenges that we are working on solving every day, and so when duty calls I remain, but I do prioritize my job as a mother above anything and try to make it home.”
Leavitt is tackling a challenge that many women might shy away from: she’s press secretary in an explosively fasted-paced administration and the right-hand woman to one of the most charismatic and relentless presidents the United States has ever seen. Her job would present a unique challenge for anyone, let alone a young mother who gave birth to her first son less than a year ago. And then there’s the fact that fewer people realize: Leavitt was back on television from her home studio about four days after Niko’s birth.
Karoline Leavitt and her son Niko at the zoo.
Chief of staff Susie Wiles had encouraged her to take all the time she needed — and that was Leavitt’s original plan. But on that chilling day in Butler, Pennsylvania, an attempted assassin took aim at Donald Trump, firing a bullet that came within mere inches of taking the president’s life. Recognizing the gravity of the moment, and inspired by her boss’ resilience, Leavitt got back to work and helped deliver another Donald Trump presidency.
She’ll remind you that she’s not the only working parent in the Trump administration, pointing to both mothers and fathers who are juggling families of their own. There’s White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and his wife Katie Miller, a DOGE senior advisor, who are parents to three children. Alex Pfeiffer, principal deputy communications director and deputy assistant to the president, has two young children at home, director of media affairs Sonny Nelson has a one-year-old son, deputy chief of staff James Blair is father to three, and Nick Luna and Beau Harrison are each fathers as well.
Four years of wedded bliss, three perfect angels. Happy Mother’s Day to @katierosemiller, the extraordinary woman at the center of our lives who fills our hearts with sunshine every day. pic.twitter.com/iyPrNyWGvx
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) May 12, 2024
“It’s a truly family friendly environment here at the White House and it’s a testament to the president and the chief of staff as well,” she shared.
Multiple Trump administration mothers who spoke with The Daily Wire echoed this same thought. These women are realistic about the pressures of their high profile jobs and the time commitment that naturally will arise from working in the administration. Yet at the same time, they say that their teams are supportive when they need to get their children to the dentist or get home in time for bath time.
“They are so incredibly understanding about mothers’ schedules, making it home on time for family time,” shared Joanna Wischer, deputy director of the Made in America office in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and mother to a one-year-old named Donovan. “The culture of the Trump administration is to make it so that we get as much done as possible in a reasonable timeframe and then be able to balance life with being able to see our kids, spend time with the family.”
Joanna Wischer and her husband Greg and baby Donovan.
That’s a vision that Chief of Staff Susie Wiles promotes, as Leavitt said during an interview with Dana Perino earlier this year: “She has made comments how we jam a lot in the day because there are so many parents in the West Wing who need to get home for bed time.” Wiles didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story.
“It’s never easy, but it’s worth it,” added Rachel Cauley, who is also mother to a one-year-old and serves as OMB’s communications director. Cauley discussed how becoming a mother impacted how she views the work before her, particularly how she looks at the policies and the way they are messaged. “It makes you believe it even more and fight even harder. … I’m doing it now all because of my son Luke.”
Leavitt reflected on this part of the job as well.
“He is truly working to make a safer and more prosperous country for our children,” she said of the president, “and as a mother, there is nothing you want more for your child than for them to be safe. The policies President Trump is implementing every day are making our country safer and that’s why I’m so proud to work for him.”
Kara Frederick, who works as senior policy advisor to the deputy chief of staff for policy covering national security, described her day-to-day as “full on, totally intense and wonderful, absolutely the best job I’ve ever had in my entire life.”
“I’ve been deployed in combat zones and I can tell you, this has been a more intense job,” laughed Frederick, who was a civilian intelligence officer attached to the U.S. military overseas. She and fellow mother May Mailman joke that they’re switching into “deployment mode” as they have transitioned into their roles with babies.
Frederick is eight months pregnant with her second daughter, and she described a culture where “the women in the West Wing really wrap their arms around each other and empowered each other.”
One example: her female colleagues threw a baby shower for Frederick and another pregnant colleague, replete with piles of presents and desserts.
“That’s just a wonderful example of how they are just embracing motherhood, embracing existing mothers … these were mothers who organized all of this and executed it and surprised us!”
It’s not just the women of the West Wing, she assured The Daily Wire. Frederick recalled a cabinet member (“famous for being beautiful, as well as smart and a total bulldog”) walking down the hall toward her, seeing her eight-months-pregnant stomach, and making a beeline to assure her, “You look amazing.”
“I’m walking on air,” Fredericks laughed, recalling the incident. “You can’t go down the hallway without hearing, ‘You’re doing great, mama! Keep going!’ It honestly is the best.”
Every single mother who spoke with The Daily Wire emphasized the importance of family support in balancing their roles as mothers and members of the Trump administration. They specifically mentioned their husbands, expressing gratitude for how flexible and supportive they have been.
“I’m very blessed with a great support system,” Leavitt shared. “A wonderful husband who is an amazing father to our son, great parents who come to D.C. often to help when we need it. And my faith really keeps me grounded in giving me the strength to do both jobs, very important jobs, at the same time.”
Walked in to @PressSec typing with one hand, and feeding her son with the other 💙
Super Mom! pic.twitter.com/UOMkHj5mV8
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) May 8, 2025
“There’s at least an awareness that when you’re putting your kid to bed at 7 p.m. that you’ll miss a couple phone calls,” shared a senior Trump administration official, “and it’s not gonna be the end of the world or you won’t be seen as a poor performer, that’s just super refreshing because everyone knows that when you’re on, you’re on, and you’re good at your job, but there are boundaries that you set up that will be respected.”
Referring to Wiles’ remarks about family time, the official added: “I really appreciate that somebody from the top of the top of the chain implementing that type of environment.”
Frederick focused on this as well, dwelling on how much her husband has supported her and arguing that spousal support in this role is absolutely critical — “ladies, please marry wisely,” she joked.
Her job is particularly intense. She usually gets in around 8:45 a.m. and will stay until 8:30 in the evening or later, depending on what is going on.
“I’m extremely blessed to have my parents in the area, my sister in the area, my husband, who has made so many sacrifices to be there to be home when I can’t be because the hours are that grueling,” she explained.
Every person in the administration is making sacrifices to forward the president’s agenda, but these mothers are particularly aware of what they are giving to the administration when they say goodbye to their little ones, or get home late and can merely kiss their heads as they sleep. Why do they do it? According to Leavitt, she truly believes in Trump’s vision, in his presidency, and in the good he is doing for the United States of America. And it won’t be forever.
“I also know that this opportunity is the opportunity of a lifetime, and it’s temporary. President Trump is only going to be here for four years, and this is a historic moment in history. I work for a president whom I truly believe in and know that his policies are making a difference.”
