Jim Kelly

Patriot Freedom

www.patriotfreedom.org

Gibbs stepping down as White House press secretary

It’s official: Robert Gibbs is leaving his post as White House press secretary.

Gibbs, one of President Obama’s most seasoned and trusted advisers, tells the New York Times’ Jeff Zeleny that he will leave the podium in early February to lend outside assistance to the president’s re-election campaign. He broke the news to this staff at a meeting earlier this morning.

No successor has been named, but Gibbs says a successor should be in place within two weeks. Among the names bandied about as a replacement as of late: Deputy Press Secretaries Bill Burton and Josh Earnest as well as Jay Carney, a former Time Magazine writer who currently serves as Vice President Joe Biden’s spokesman.

The move marks what will be a major season of transition for the Obama White House on the eve of the president’s 2012 re-election bid. In coming weeks, David Axelrod, the president’s longtime political adviser, will exit the White House to work for the campaign. Gibbs and Axelrod have worked for Obama dating back to his 2004 run for Senate. Axelrod will be replaced by David Plouffe, who ran Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

At the same time, Obama is looking at hiring a new chief of staff. Pete Rouse, Obama’s former Senate chief of staff, temporarily replaced Rahm Emanuel, who quit the White House in October to run for mayor of Chicago, but he’s reportedly indicated he doesn’t want the job permanently. The president is said to be eying Bill Daley, President Clinton’s former Commerce secretary for the job.

(Photo of Obama and Gibbs by Charles Dharapak/AP)

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