Press Secretary Gibbs to leave White House

[News_Editor]

Press Secretary Gibbs to leave White House

2011-01-05 23:57:43 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Wednesday announced that he is leaving the White House after two years at the position, the New York Times reported.

Gibbs, 39, would be the latest top U.S. official to leave the Obama administration. He told his staffers that he is exploring the possibility of establishing his own consulting shop.

The press secretary intends to become an outside political adviser to the president and his re-election campaign in 2012. Gibbs is expected to leave his post by February. His successor will likely be announced during the next two weeks.

President Barack Obama said that Gibbs will continue to be a close adviser and will continue being an important political figure in the years to come.

"He’s had a six-year stretch now where basically he’s been going 24/7 with relatively modest pay," said Obama. "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."

Gibbs' dismissal came as the White House is currently undergoing a restructure. Amidst the changes highlights the possibility of a new White House chief of staff. Obama is expected to announce a decision by the end of the week.

It appears that Obama's decision for new White House chief of staff would be between Pete Rouse, interim chief of staff, or William Daley, former Commerce Secretary and brother of Chicago’s mayor, Richard Daley.

“The American people are expecting us to hit the ground running and start working with this new Congress to promote job growth and keep the recovery going,†said the U.S. President.

The soon-to-be vacant Press Secretary post could be likely filled by Jay Carney, spokesman for Vice President Joseph Biden, Bill Burton and Josh Earnest, who work as deputies to Gibbs.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-01-05