White House Picks Jay Carney As New Press Secretary
By Chris Cillizza and Anne Kornblut
3:55 PM ET, 01/27/2011
President Obama has chosen Jay Carney to serve as his new press secretary, replacing longtime loyalist Robert Gibbs who is leaving his post in mid February, according to a senior Administration official.
The White House will also name Office of Health Reform Nancy-Ann DeParle and current White House director of scheduling and Advance Alyssa Mastromonaco as deputy chiefs of staff.
Carney, who is currently communications director for Vice President Joe Biden, came to the White House in 2009 after a long career in journalism in which he served -- among other posts -- as Washington bureau chief of Time magazine.
The White House had made clear they were interested in tapping an outsider for the post -- particularly after Bill Daley was tapped as the new chief of staff. It's not clear whether the White House believes Carney to be an outsider as he has spent the last two years within the Administration.
Replacing Gibbs is no easy task as he enjoyed a very close relationship with Obama dating back to 2004 when he worked on the president's Senate campaign.
Gibbs is expected to open his own consulting operation and appear on television as a prominent surrogate for the president. He will also be involved in the planning stages of Obama's reelection bid, which will be led by current deputy White House chief of staff Jim Messina.
Obama has undergone a major staff transition in recent weeks.
Gone -- or soon to be gone -- are Messina, senior adviser David Axelrod and political director Patrick Gaspard -- all three of whom are leaving the official White House staff to begin preparations for the 2012 presidential campaign.
In are Daley and David Plouffe who managed Obama's 2008 race.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/white-house/white-house-picks-tk-as-new-pr.html?wpisrc=nl_natlalert
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