Popular Figure Takes Over Press Briefing

Vice President JD Vance stepped behind the White House podium Thursday for the administration’s first formal press briefing since Karoline Leavitt departed her historic role as press secretary.

The White House has not announced a permanent replacement for Leavitt. Administration officials have indicated that Vance, Cabinet secretaries and other senior officials may rotate through the briefing room while President Donald Trump considers his options.

Vance immediately used the high-profile appearance to announce new results from the administration’s crackdown on fraud in the commercial trucking industry.

“We have taken over 2,000 fraudulent CDL mills out of business, which makes America’s roads safer and also protects the jobs of American truckers,” Vance said.

“If you’re an American trucker wondering why it is that the last administration facilitated illegal aliens driving semi-trucks on our roads, or if you’re an American who just shares a road with somebody who isn’t properly qualified, we’ve made the roads safer,” he continued.

“We’ve seen trucker wages go up by 7.5%.”

Vance credited the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which he leads, with helping expose training operations and licensing schemes that allegedly allowed unqualified drivers to obtain commercial driving credentials.

“And that effort was obviously led by our anti-fraud task force because so many of these people were engaged in effectively fraudulent driving,” Vance said.

“They were getting these diplomas, these CDLs through fraudulent means. We stopped that. We’re very proud of it.”

Commercial driver’s licenses are issued by states, but federal authorities regulate training providers, interstate commercial carriers and minimum safety requirements.

Vance’s announcement follows the creation of Joint Task Force Crossroads of America, an interagency operation involving the Justice Department, Department of Transportation, Department of Homeland Security and federal prosecutors across several Midwestern states.

The initiative is investigating fraudulent CDL schools, unauthorized employment, identity-document fraud, money laundering, labor exploitation and potential connections to human smuggling and drug trafficking.

Federal officials recently announced the emergency removal of 110 commercial-driver training providers associated with more than 5,000 drivers who failed English-language proficiency tests.

Another 160 schools received proposed removal notices after investigators uncovered alleged violations including unlicensed instructors, missing records, inadequate training facilities and even one provider that claimed to operate a classroom inside a school bus parked behind a trailer.

Drivers trained by those 160 providers have been linked to 239 commercial-vehicle fatalities, according to the Justice Department.

The administration says its broader enforcement campaign has removed more than 28,000 drivers from the roads for failing English-proficiency requirements, forced states to cancel more than 30,000 licenses improperly issued to foreign drivers and purged more than 8,000 unqualified training providers from the federal registry.

Homeland Security investigators also conducted a synchronized enforcement operation targeting more than 200 driving schools across 23 states.

“Americans have a right to feel safe on the roads their taxes pay for,” White House Fraud Task Force Executive Director Scott Brady said.

“Unfortunately, the previous administration disagreed and turned a blind eye to criminal enterprises that allowed drivers who couldn’t pass a basic English test to obtain a commercial driver’s license.”

The administration’s initiative is aimed at protecting motorists while also addressing concerns from American truckers who argue that fraudulent licensing and unauthorized employment suppress wages and place legitimate operators at a competitive disadvantage.

Vance’s appearance also placed him at the center of the White House communications operation as the administration navigates Leavitt’s departure.

Thursday’s event was the first White House press briefing since July 23 and the first since Leavitt officially left her position at the end of August.

Vance’s appearance should not be interpreted as evidence that he is becoming press secretary. The White House previously used a similar rotating arrangement during Leavitt’s maternity leave, when Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent briefed reporters.

Trump also speaks with journalists frequently at the White House, aboard Air Force One and during public events, making the traditional press-secretary role less central to his administration than under previous presidents.

Leavitt, meanwhile, is not leaving Trump’s political operation.

The 29-year-old stepped down to spend more time with her two young children after becoming the youngest White House press secretary in American history.

“Our wonderful White House Press Secretary, and one of my most trusted aides, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect,” Trump announced Aug. 12.

Trump said Leavitt would remain one of his “top outside advisers” and become an influential voice in the Republican Party ahead of the November midterms.

Leavitt has since confirmed that she will return to MAGA Inc., the Trump-aligned super PAC where she worked as a spokesperson before joining Trump’s successful 2024 presidential campaign.

Her new position will allow her to advocate directly for Trump’s agenda and Republican candidates without the restrictions and relentless schedule associated with serving inside the White House.

Republican strategist Ford O’Connell said Leavitt’s understanding of Trump’s supporters and ability to command media attention could make her particularly valuable during the midterm campaign.

“She understands the base and how to break through the legacy news media cycle,” O’Connell said, calling those abilities “invaluable to the president and to the Republican Party.”

Leavitt is expected to join Trump at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas on Sept. 9 and 10.

Republicans are confronting a difficult national environment as they fight to preserve their congressional majorities, making Leavitt’s move into the political operation particularly timely.

MAGA Inc. is preparing to deploy its substantial campaign resources across competitive races, while Vance is scheduled to headline a Michigan rally alongside Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers and gubernatorial nominee Rep. John James.

Leavitt used her final White House appearances to preview the economic argument Republicans are likely to carry into November.

She accused Democrats of opposing what she called “the largest tax cuts in American history” and said Trump would continue taking his record directly to voters.

Vance’s briefing showed how that strategy could work without a traditional press secretary permanently occupying the podium.

Instead of relying exclusively on a communications official to explain administration policy, Trump can send senior officials directly into the briefing room to defend their work.

On Thursday, that meant the vice president personally announcing a sweeping crackdown on fraudulent trucking schools, defending American drivers and connecting road safety with Trump’s broader immigration and economic agenda.