White House staff throw MAGA-themed baby shower for Karoline Leavitt

An intimate family milestone took on the look of a Trump-world loyalty test as White House staff gathered around Karoline Leavitt at President Trump’s northern Virginia golf club. The private baby sprinkle, held Sunday, March 22, 2026, mixed balloons, teddy bears, a “sprinkle with love” sign and white tulips with the unmistakable signaling of a MAGA-era celebration.

Leavitt, the first pregnant White House press secretary, is expecting a baby girl in May with her husband, Nicholas Riccio. The couple’s first child, Nicholas “Niko” Robert Riccio, was born in July 2024. Leavitt announced the pregnancy on Instagram on Dec. 26, 2025, thanking Trump and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for support and for fostering what she called a pro-family environment in the White House. She has said she plans to return to the briefing room after maternity leave.

Nearly 50 White House officials and Trump-world figures attended, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, Katie Miller, White House press office principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly, deputy press secretaries Abigail Jackson and Taylor Rogers, and executive assistant Kieghan Nangle. Other attendees included Allison Lutnick, Kathryn Burgum and Rachel Campos-Duffy. The guest list doubled as a snapshot of the administration’s social network, with aides, spouses and senior figures crowding a party that looked less like a standard baby shower than a public show of allegiance.

The celebration landed inside a White House that is already experiencing something of a baby boom. Miller, Samantha Blair and Hayley Harrison are also expecting, adding to the sense that pregnancy and parenthood have become part of the administration’s internal culture as much as its public image.

Online reaction to the photos split fast. Critics mocked the size of the gathering, the guest list and the names that were absent, while supporters framed the event as a warm show of solidarity among women in Trump’s orbit. For Leavitt, who has built her identity as both a young mother and a top spokesperson, the shower underscored how easily even a private milestone can be folded into partisan branding.