White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is stepping down, President Obama announced Friday in a surprise statement at the start of Carney’s daily press briefing.
Carney, who said he planned to leave in mid-June, will be replaced by Josh Earnest, a deputy press secretary.
“In April, Jay came to me in the Oval Office and said that he was thinking of moving on, and I was not thrilled, to say the least … but Jay has had to wrestle with this decision for quite some time,” the President told reporters.
Obama praised Carney for his “good heart” and “temperament” as he dealt with the media since he replaced Robert Gibbs as the White House’s chief spokesman in early 2011.
“I’m going to miss him a lot,” Obama added.
Carney, 49, was mum on his future plans, though the President said he hoped the weary official “could spend as much of the summer as he can with his kids.”
“Be nice to him on his farewell tour,” the President jokingly pleaded with the press.
With emotion in his voice, Carney said that despite the challenges of the job, “I love it.”
“It’s not all pretty. It could certainly be better. But to be part of it is certainly an honor and a joy for me.”
Earnest said he is “grateful and excited” about the promotion.
He is jumping into the role and will travel to Europe with Obama next week, in Carney’s stead. Obama promised Earnest will live up to his name: “He’s an earnest guy.”
Carney had served for the first two years of the Obama administration as spokesman for Vice President Biden.
A former journalist himself, as a Time magazine correspondent, he is married to ABC reporter Claire Shipman. The couple have two children — Hugo, an aspiring musician, and Della.
