(Via The Hill) White House press secretary Jay Carney is resigning as the White House’s principal spokesman.
President Obama announced the move in a surprise appearance during Carney’s briefing, and the same day he accepted Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki’s resignation.
Carney will leave his job next month, and he’ll be replaced by his deputy, longtime Obama aide Josh Earnest. Obama hailed Carney as “one of my closest friends” and a “great press secretary”.
“He’s got good judgement, he has good temperament and he’s got a good heart,” Obama said. “And I’m going to miss him a lot. I will continue to rely on him as a friend, an adviser after he leaves to spend as much of his summer as he can with his kids before he decides what’s next for him. Whatever it is, I know he’s going to be outstanding at it.”
The president said Carney had first approached him about leaving the White House earlier in the spring. Around that time, rumors surfaced that Carney was interested in pursuing the job as U.S. Ambassador to Russia.
On Friday, Carney said flatly he was not interested in that job, which remains open.
“I can assure you that my family, having won me back, would not be happy with that outcome,” Carney said. (continue reading)
