Alina Habba Addresses Speculation She is Looking to Become White House Press Secretary

Jonathan Ernst / REUTERS The frantic race to replace Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary is heating up after the bettors’ favorite broke her silence on whether she’s gunning for the job.

Leavitt, 28, announced last week that she’ll be stepping down as Donald Trump’s official mouthpiece to spend more time with her family after the birth of her second child in May.

Insiders said Trump’s incessant phone calls while she was on maternity leave were a factor in her decision.

The White House is now scrabbling to man the podium with someone capable of defending the administration from itself as Trump’s gaffes threaten a bloodbath at the November midterms.

Republicans hold only slim majorities in the House and Senate, and the Democrats’ current 8-point lead on the generic congressional ballot suggests the GOP could very well lose control of both.

Betting site Kalshi had Alina Habba, 42, as the frontrunner in that race by a wide margin on Wednesday, handing her a 41.2-percent chance of landing the job, with a 24.3-point lead on her nearest contender.

Habba previously served as Trump’s personal attorney and acted as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey from March to December last year, when a court ruled she’d been illegally appointed.

Habba reacted to her status.

“Flattered by the Kalshi odds, but I’m not in the running for any job,” Habba posted just after 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening.

“However, if I’m getting a new one, I’d love for one of these anonymous sources to let me know first.

Fake news remains the undefeated champ… well… until I come at them.” Habba’s coy denial cuts against other signs that she’s not only in the running for the job, but is actively campaigning for it.

She’s said that whoever “gets that podium next better come ready for a fight they have big shoes to fill,” and over the weekend, she attended Trump’s Bedminster golf course for a dinner said to have basically functioned as a ring-kissing ceremony for the president’s would-be press secretaries.

One source with knowledge of the event told the Daily Mail on Tuesday it had unfolded like an episode of The Apprentice .

“It reeks of desperation,” the person said.