Jay Carney Resigns As White House Press Secretary
Jay Carney is resigning as the White House press secretary for the Obama administration. President Barack Obama announced today that Carney will step down from his post. The president uttered praise for the Carney, who has been battered by press questions about both the VA scandal and the Benghazi scandal as of late.
President Obama made a surprise appearance in the White House press briefing room earlier today to announce that Jay Carney would not be the man behind the podium any longer. The president referred to Carney as “one of his closest adviser and friends” at the White House.
Communications Deputy Josh Earnest will take over the press secretary duties immediately. “Today the flak jacket is officially passed to a new generation,” President Obama said while making the Jay Carney resignation announcement. Josh Earnest worked on the Obama campaign in 2008. Earnest has routinely filled in for Carney during daily press briefings. The 39-year-old will travel to Europe with President Obama next week. Carney will officially vacate his post in mid to late June.
Carney, 49, was a White House correspondent for Time Magazine before joining the Obama administration as a spokesman for Joe Biden. Jay Carney was promoted to the press secretary post in early 2011 after Robert Gibbs resigned.
As Carney was about to complete an answer about the ongoing hostilities in the Ukraine, the president informed the members of the media assembled about the staffing change.
President Obama also said:
“Jay has become one of my closet friends and is a great press secretary and a great adviser. He’s got good judgement, he has good temperament and he’s got a good heart. And I’ going to miss him a lot. I will continue to rely on him as a friend and adviser after he leave to spend as much of his summer a he can with his kids before he decides what’s next for him.”
Check back with The Inquistr for more information about this breaking news story when additional details become available.
[Image via The Wire]
