Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is stepping down as the chief spokesman for the White House to become an outside adviser to the president and his re-election campaign.
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No successor has been immediately named. But Gibbs told The New York Times, which first reported the departure, that a replacement will likely be announced within the next two weeks.
Gibbs’ departure from the briefing room podium is part of a broader shakeup in President Obama’s senior leadership team as the White House pivots to deal with a new era of divided power in Washington.
Gibbs will leave after Obama delivers his State of the Union address at the end of this month, a senior administration official told Fox News. While Gibbs will no longer be the face of the administration, he will still be giving speeches on behalf of the president and making TV appearances.
“Stepping back will take some adjusting,” Gibbs told The New York Times in an interview Wednesday morning. “But at the same time, I have a feeling that I will keep myself quite busy, not just with speaking, but continuing to help the president.”
Obama told the newspaper in a brief telephone interview that Gibbs would remain a close adviser and “will continue to shape the dialogue politically for many years to come.”
“We’ve been on this ride together since I won my Senate primary in 2004,” Obama said. “He’s had a six-year stretch now where basically he’s been going 24/7 with relatively modest pay. I think it’s natural for someone like Robert to want to step back for a second to reflect, retool and that, as a consequence, brings about both challenges and opportunities for the White House.”
The leading candidates to replace Gibbs include deputy press secretaries Bill Burton and Josh Earnest, and Jay Carney, a spokesman for Vice President Biden.
Another possible White House departure: Obama’s interim chief of staff, Pete Rouse, who has been heading a staff review that is expected to result in some West Wing shakeups. Obama is considering tapping former Commerce Secretary Bill Daley to replace Rouse.
David Plouffe, the architect of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, is expected to be in the White House as soon as next week as an adviser to the president. One of the president’s most trusted advisers, David Axelrod, is leaving this month; he is expected to take a break and recharge for a central role in the 2012 re-election campaign.
Obama is also expected to have a new chief economic adviser and two new deputy chiefs of staff.
All the changes are aimed at dealing with a Republican-led House and a Senate with a slimmer Democratic majority.
FN
