Jay Carney is leaving his post as White House press secretary, President Barack Obama announced on Friday.
Obama delivered the news to reporters in the White House briefing room, after his remarks on Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki’s resignation earlier in the day.
“I’m going to miss him a lot,” Obama said about Carney.
Obama said Carney “has become one of my closest friends” and is a “great advisor” with a “great heart.”
Carney did not specify his last day or plans after the White House, but said that he will be leaving in mid-June. Deputy press secretary Josh Earnest will take his place.
“It’s been an amazing experience,” Carney said of his time as press secretary. “In mid-life you don’t often make a whole new set of friends.”
