Jay Carney Delivers Final White House Press Briefing

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney bid farewell Wednesday when he gave his last briefing to the White House press corps.

Carney walked out as a song by his favorite band, Guided by Voices, played on the overheard speakers.

“Now that is some good rock ’n’ roll,” Carney said as he took to the podium for the last time.

“I just want to say thank you to all of you here,” adding “this has been an extraordinary experience, and I have loved every minute of every day, even the many minutes of many days that I’ve spent in this room,” he told members of the White House press corps.

Carney thanked many members of the administration, including the president for “taking a chance on me.”

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, at the end of the press conference, entered the briefing room and told Carney: “We are going to miss you dearly.”

Carney, the 29th White House Press Secretary, took over as the head spokesman for the president after Robert Gibbs stepped down in 2011.

Stepping in is Josh Earnest, who began serving President Obama as his Iowa Communications Director in 2007. Earnest’s previous White House positions include: Special Assistant to the President, Principal Deputy Press Secretary and Chief of Staff in the White House Communications office.

Agencies/Canadajournal