Karoline Leavitt announces birth of baby girl

By Aileen Graef, CNN

(CNN) — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday announced the birth of her daughter Viviana, saying she is “perfect and healthy.”

“On May 1st, Viviana aka ‘Vivi’ joined our family, and our hearts instantly exploded with love,” Leavitt said in a post on Instagram.

“She is perfect and healthy, and her big brother is joyfully adjusting to life with his new baby sister. We are enjoying every moment in our blissful newborn bubble,” she added.

This is Leavitt’s second child with husband Nicholas Riccio.

Less than a week before she gave birth, Leavitt was at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and entertainer Oz Pearlman, known as “Oz the Mentalist,” was attempting to guess her baby’s name. During his reveal, when he guessed the name “Vivian,” attendees became aware of a gunman trying to get into the room.

“They were asking the name of Karoline’s child that he didn’t know,” President Donald Trump told CBS News’ “60 Minutes” about the incident.

While Leavitt is on maternity leave, Cabinet members have been asked to help brief the press.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his debut in the press briefing room on Tuesday, with one White House official calling him “a natural” and praising the secretary for his message on Iran.

Vice President JD Vance is also expected to make an appearance. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other “TV thoroughbreds” could be tapped and “maybe even the president himself” could make an appearance, per the official.

This story has been updated with additional context.

Kit Maher contributed to this report.

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