Why Jay Carney Resigned As White House Press Secretary, And What To Expect From Josh Earnest

There was a lot of big news on Friday, but none bigger for the White House beat than the resignation of White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, and the naming of Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest (who now has the all-time greatest contradictory name in press secretary history) as Carney’s replacement. We’ve got exclusive analysis of Carney’s resignation by some of the reporters whom he’ll be leaving behind, plus what we can expect from Earnest, who will accompany President Obama on his European trip next week.

Coming, as it did, on the same day as V.A. Secretary Eric Shinseki’s resignation, many have been wondering if there’s something more to the timing of Carney’s resignation, in addition to the sort of palace intrigue speculation that occurs any time there’s a move like this. The short answer is no, there’s really nothing more to see here. As the President said in his remarks, Carney’s been on the job a long time, first in Vice President Biden’s office, and then three and a half years as White House press secretary. President Obama also stressed, in his remarks, the strain that such a job puts on a young family.

CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett agrees. “I have been expecting Jay to leave for at least two months,” Garrett said via email. “It was clear the job was taking a toll, and he was looking for a way to spend more time with his family. It’s a hard job, a real grinder and, as such, this is no surprise.”

Paul Brandis, who runs the popular West Wing Report Twitter feed, also saw this coming. “He’d been in the job longer than most predecessors,” Brandis tells me. “On CSPAN the other day I said ‘I expect he’ll leave any day now.'”

“It’s one of the most thankless jobs in Washington and he did what he’s supposed to do: say as little as possible. And that’s exactly what he did.” Paul adds.

CBS Radio News’ Mark Knoller, the unofficial “Dean” of the White House press corps, says “It’s definitely a burn-out job. Nearly 3 ½ years in the job is a long time and I believe him when he says it puts a strain on family life.”

Carney also says there’s nothing deeper at play. “Just look at what the president said,” he says, via email. The President also expressed his disappointment at learning of Carney’s decision, during a meeting in the Oval Office in April.

If anything, Carney stuck around longer than anyone could have expected. Two years into his tenure, the point at which Robert Gibbs resigned, Carney began a period of mortal combat from the podium that was ushered in by the fake Benghazi emails, and continued unabated through a press-fueled Scandalabra that came full circle this spring with another Benghazi email story. Along the way, Carney found his fighting legs, but whereas Gibbs relished the fight, Carney was pushed into it, Bill Bixby-style.

As for the timing of Carney’s announcement with Shinseki’s…READ MORE

By: Tommy Christopher

Tommy Christopher is The Daily Banter's White House Correspondent and Political Analyst. He's been a political reporter and liberal commentator since 2007, and has covered the White House since the beginning of the Obama administration, first for PoliticsDaily, and then for Mediaite. Christopher is a frequent guest on a variety of television, radio, and online programs, and was the villain in the documentaries The Audacity of Democracy and Hating Breitbart. He's also That Guy Who Live-Tweeted His Own Heart Attack, and the only person to have ever received public apologies from both Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.