Karoline Leavitt opens up on 'secret tip' for balancing motherhood and high pressure career

WASHINGTON, DC: Karoline Leavitt walked back into the White House briefing room on Thursday, July 16, after months away from the podium and was immediately pulled into some of the biggest battles facing the Trump administration.

But amid questions on ICE, mass deportations, and the Iran war, the press secretary was asked something far more personal: How does a woman balance motherhood with a high-pressure career?

Karoline Leavitt reveals her secret

Leavitt's answer was refreshingly simple, and she delivered it without pretending that juggling work and family is easy.

“I don't think there is a secret. You just have to show up every day and keep going,” she said.

Then came a quick shout-out to her husband, Nicholas Riccio.

“Shout out to my husband, who's home with our babies right now!” Leavitt said, acknowledging that while she was back at the White House facing a room full of reporters, her husband was at home looking after their children.

Leavitt admitted that the balancing act is “challenging.” But for her, the job is not simply another demanding position on a career ladder.

“For me, I view this as more than a job,” she said.

“I view this as public service. On behalf of a president who I firmly believe in everything this administration is doing and really creating a better country for my children in their future.”

And then, Leavitt brought the conversation back to the part of her life that she clearly holds closest.

“I’m very grateful to both be working in this job, but also to have two beautiful babies at home,” she said. “As you know, any mom in this room knows there's nothing better than being a mother.”

Karoline Leavitt returns to work

The remarks came on a significant day for Leavitt. Thursday marked her first White House press briefing since she went on maternity leave earlier this year.

The 28-year-old press secretary had stepped away from the briefing room in late April as she prepared to welcome her second child.

She later gave birth to her second child, daughter Viviana, with Riccio. Their family also includes their young son, Niko.

But Leavitt's return was hardly a quiet one.

Within minutes of being back behind the podium, she was once again answering questions on the administration's most closely watched issues. 

Reporters pressed her on ICE enforcement, the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign, and the ongoing Iran conflict, a sharp reminder of just how quickly she stepped back into the center of Washington's political firestorm.

The White House had relied on other senior administration officials to brief reporters during her absence. On Thursday, however, the briefing room had Leavitt back at the microphone.