President Barack Obama made a surprise appearance in the White House Briefing Room on Friday to announce the departure of Press Secretary Jay Carney after more than three years in the post.
Obama praised Carney, his second press secretary, and announced the selection of Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest as his choice to be the next press secretary. Earnest joined Obama’s first presidential campaign in Iowa in 2007, and will take control of the ceremonial flak jacket next month.
“As you know, his name describes his demeanor,” Obama said of his new press secretary. “Josh is an earnest guy, and you can’t find just a nicer individual, even outside of Washington.”
Carney was previously the director of communications for Vice President Joe Biden and is the longest-serving press secretary since Mike McCurry in the Clinton White House. Carney is also a former Washington bureau chief for TIME.
Paying tribute to Carney, Obama called him “one of my closest friends in Washington.”
“I’m going to miss him a lot,” Obama added. “I’m going to continue to rely on him as a friend and advisor.”
Carney said he is excited about his options after leaving the White House, but ruled out speculation that he would accept the vacant post of U.S. Ambassador to Moscow. “I can assure you that my family, having won me back, would not be happy with that outcome,” he said.
Obama’s first press secretary, Robert Gibbs, now runs a strategic communications consultancy and has a contributor contract with cable network MSNBC.
Photos: Jay Carney's Very Public Life, So Far
TIME White House correspondent Jay Carney outside the West Wing of of the White House in Washington on July 22, 1994. Diana Walker—Time Life Pictures/Getty ImageWhite House press secretary Jay Carney and ABC reporter Claire Shipman arrive for the State dinner for the Prime Minister of Great Britain at the White House on March, 14, 2012 in Washington.Bill O'Leary—The Washington Post/Getty ImagesWhite House Press Secretary Jay Carney (L), US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (C) and Deputy White House chief of Staff Nancy DeParle (R) get ice cream cones as US President Barack Obama visits DeWitt Dairy Treats in Dewitt, Iowa, August 16, 2011.Jim Watson—AFP/Getty ImagesWhite House press secretary Jay Carney listens to a question about Israel and Secretary of State John Kerry during his daily news briefing at the White House in Washington on Jan. 14, 2014.Jacquelyn Martin—APWhite House Press Secretary Jay Carney displays photographs of himself from Tuesday's briefing before taking questions from reporters in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on May 15, 2013 in Washington.Chip Somodevilla—Getty ImagesFrom left: Senior White House Advisors Valerie Jarret, and David Plouffe, White House Deptuy Chief of Staff Nancy Ann DeParle, and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney walk across the South Lawn upon the return to the White House on Augu. 29, 2012 in Washington. Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty ImagesWhite House Press Secretary Jay Carney arrives for the daily press briefing at the White House on Sept. 10, 2012 in Washington.Brendan Smialowki—AFP/Getty ImagesWhite House Press Secretary Jay Carney, center, senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer, left, and speechwriter Kyle O'Connor wait outside as President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama meet with families of firefighters killed in the West Texas, fertilizer plant explosion after a memorial at Baylor University in Waco,Texas on April 25, 2013. Charles Dharapak—APIn this image released by the White House, Vice President Joe Biden works with Communications Director Jay Carney on Air Force Two en route to Atherton, Calif., July 8, 2010. David Lienemann—APWhite House press secretary Jay Carney begins the daily briefing tipping his Boston Red Sox baseball cap at the White House on April 1, 2014 in Washington. Susan Walsh—APWhite House Press Secretary Jay Carney speaks about the government shutdown on the morning television news shows at the White House on Oct. 1, 2013 in Washington.Charles Dharapak—APUnited States President Barack Obama and Press Secretary Jay Carney walk back to the White House from nearby Taylor Gourmet Deli on Pennsylvania Avenue after picking up lunch on Oct. 4, 2013 in Washington. Pete Marovich—DPA/APWhite House Press Secretary Jay Carney walks into the White House on the second day of the government shutdown, Oct.2, 2013 in Washington. Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty ImagesWhite House press secretary Jay Carney looks down as he speaks to reporters about the so-called "sequester" at the White House in Washington Feb.28, 2013. Kevin Lamarque—ReutersPresident Barack Obama gives White House press secretary Jay Carney a hug after announcing that Carney will step down later next month, during a surprise visit to the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on May 30, 2014 in Washington. Susan Walsh—AP
