White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is leaving the Trump administration

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the youngest person to hold the role, will leave the Trump administration at the end of the month to spend more time with her young family.

Leavitt, 28, called it a “bittersweet decision" in a social media post Wednesday shortly after President Donald Trump announced she would be stepping down. She recently returned to the White House podium after the birth of her second child, a daughter named Viviana, in May. She also has a 2-year-old son.

“The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary — and that is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life,” Leavitt wrote.

Trump did not outline plans for who might replace her in the high-profile role. He said in a social media post of his own that her decision to leave is one “I totally understand and respect!” and indicated she would continue to play a role in his orbit.

“Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the Midterm Elections,” the president wrote.

Leavitt worked as a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing the general election to incumbent Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas.

During Trump’s first term in office, Leavitt worked as an aide in the White House press office. She then became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik.

Leavitt briefed from the White House press room less frequently than some of her recent predecessors. Trump, who regularly engages with reporters during White House events and during his travels, primarily deployed Leavitt to Fox News and other conservative news outlets to trumpet his agenda and take shots at Democrats and the mainstream media.

Trump’s first-term press secretaries included Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who were known for quarreling with reporters. Another, Stephanie Grisham, never held a briefing. Her successor, Kayleigh McEnany, often lectured the news media during her appearances in the press briefing room.

FILE - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt watches as President Donald Trump speak to reporters while in flight on Air Force One to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

FILE - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and her husband Nicholas Riccio arrive at The Mar-a-Lago Club, Feb. 1, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla., to attend the wedding of White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and Erin Elmore, the director of Art in Embassies at the U.S. Department of State. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

FILE - President Donald Trump attends the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, at the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC, July 24, 2026, in Washington, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)

FILE - Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt glances at President Donald Trump before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Feb. 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, File)

FILE - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, July 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt points to a reporter to ask a question in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, March 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, July 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

BELHAVEN, N.C. (AP) — Investors and scientists are restoring a 23-square-mile (60-square-kilometer) tract of peatland in North Carolina's Inner Banks to curb emissions of climate-warming carbon dioxide and regenerate native habitat.

Fifty miles (80 kilometers) of ditches dug decades ago for an abandoned farming venture drained much of the water from thousands of years of accumulated peat — partially decayed organic matter up to 15 feet (4.6 meters) deep — leaving the site vulnerable to drought and wildfires, altering native habitats and allowing it to emit 130,000 tons of carbon dioxide every year.

Here are key takeaways from The Associated Press’ reporting:

Though they account for just 3% of the global land surface, peatlands store about one-third of the Earth’s carbon dioxide, more than all forests combined. But when degraded, destroyed or burned they become part of the problem, releasing huge volumes of greenhouse gases, now about 6% of the annual global total from all sources.

When peatlands are intact, gases generated by decomposing plants are trapped in a waterlogged, oxygen-deprived environment, while surface vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, scientists say.

They also store about 10% of global fresh water, help control flooding and can help stem wildfires, as well as provide important habitat for many species.

Two-thirds of temperate peatlands — mostly in Europe and the U.S. — have been dewatered for farming, mining and other uses, while about 45% of tropical peatlands have been similarly disturbed, according to a 2025 study published by The Society for Conservation Biology.

Boreal peatlands, in colder climates in places like Canada and Russia, are about 90% intact, but face growing pressure from thawing permafrost and intense fires, both linked to climate change, as well as mining and critical minerals exploration.

Saturated peatlands are nearly fireproof: Just the surface vegetation and a few inches of peat burn, releasing nutrients, regenerating seed banks and creating beneficial biochar.

But when they’re dry, fire can burn underground for weeks or months — drying out and destroying even saturated layers — emitting enormous volumes of carbon dioxide and destroying thousands of years of accumulation.

In North Carolina, 11,000 miles (17,702 kilometers) of canals drain peatlands before the water empties into coastal estuaries. And the type of peatlands found there, and for hundreds of miles along the Eastern Seaboard, are among the most threatened in the world.

Colorado-based Pantheon Regeneration plans to restore its property by blocking off ditches to control the water table and significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Then it will cull invasive species and replant native grasses, flowers and other plants.

Pantheon plans to sell carbon credits to tech companies and other corporations that want to compensate for their own greenhouse gas emissions, then use the money to restore and preserve a million acres of peatland from Virginia to northern Florida over the next decade.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

An agricultural field in a peatland area is visible Monday, May 4, 2026, in Roper, N.C. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Fire-damaged trees stand in an area of peatland Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Belhaven, N.C. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Neal Flanagan, a research scientist at Duke University, works near a solar panel powering a sensor that measures carbon emissions Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Belhaven, N.C. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Construction materials sit near a peatland restoration site Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Belhaven, N.C. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Curtis Richardson, an ecology professor at Duke University, holds peat soil Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Belhaven, N.C. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)