“The View” Extends Invite to Karoline Leavitt as She Exits Trump Administration During FCC Feud
“The View” Extends Invite to Karoline Leavitt as She Exits Trump Administration During FCC Feud
Charna FlamFri, August 28, 2026 at 1:34 AM UTC
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Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg; Karoline LeavittCredit: ABC/JEFF LIPSKY; Andrew Harnik/Getty -
Karoline Leavitt was invited to appear as a guest on The View, PEOPLE can confirm
Her invitation follows her decision, as the youngest-ever White House press secretary, to step down to focus on her family and a new role at Trump’s super PAC, MAGA, Inc.
The invitation from the daytime talk show comes amid the network’s ongoing battle defending The View as a “bona fide” news program amid a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) review of its station licenses
Karoline Leavitt has been invited to appear as a guest on The View.
Leavitt, 29, concluded her nearly 20-month tenure as the nation’s youngest-ever White House press secretary on Thursday, Aug. 27. She was installed when President Donald Trump began his second term in January 2025.
On her final day, a report said she was asked to join The View. But PEOPLE can confirm Leavitt was invited to appear as a guest, not as a guest host or co-host. CNN first reported the news.
All six co-hosts from season 29, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farrah Griffin, will return for season 30 on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Joy Behar, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin on September 23, 2025.Credit: ABC/Lou Rocco
The invite comes as the network and its parent company, The Walt Disney Company, defend the show before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In January, the FCC proposed that “bona fide” news programs are exempt from FCC equal time rules, but specifically called out the exclusion of daytime and late-night talk shows.
In July, ABC filed a document arguing that The View is a “bona fide” news program, and has been since the FCC ruled so in 2002, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Then on Aug. 18, the network sued the agency in federal court, alleging major First Amendment violations, per NPR. But FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency hasn’t decided whether to renew the licenses, and claimed Disney and ABC are jumping to conclusions.
The clarification about The View‘s request regarding Leavitt comes weeks after the president announced on Aug. 12 that Leavitt will leave the White House. He said she would transition into a role at MAGA Inc., Trump’s super PAC, as she prioritizes raising her two young children, 2-year-old son Niko and 17-week-old Viviana.
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She said she made the decision soon after returning from maternity leave this summer, when she realized she could no longer devote her full attention to the job with both a newborn and toddler at home. She shares her two children with husband Nicholas Riccio, a 60-year-old real estate developer from New Hampshire.
Karoline Leavitt outside the White House in Washington, DC, on August 27, 2026.Credit: Jim WATSON/AFP via Getty
At the start of her last day, she spoke with NewsNation’s Morning in America, saying that reaching the transition is “a very surreal feeling,” describing her time with the administration “the adventure of a lifetime.”
As she continued, Leavitt callled her resignation “one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make.”
“I’ve served the president the best I can and he deserves the press secretary who can be here on the clock, literally 24/7. That’s what the job requires. And sometimes in life you just can’t have it all at the same time. And I realize I’m at that moment in my life right now,” she said.
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She confirmed on Thursday, Aug. 27, that the search for her replacement is still underway, noting that there’s a list of potential names and she has offered to assist in the decision.
Among the names that have made their way into public view are CNN commentator Scott Jennings, White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly, White House communications director Steven Cheung, conservative podcaster Katie Miller, broadcaster Sage Steele, MAGA news personality Kari Lake, U.S. Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley, former Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, and former Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
