Evan Vucci/AP
President Obama made a surprise announcement Friday, saying that White House press secretary Jay Carney will step down after three years as his chief spokesman and will be succeeded by his deputy, Josh Earnest. Carney, 49, joined the administration in late 2008 as spokesman for Joe Biden and was promoted to Obama’s chief spokesman in February 2011. Earnest will travel with Obama to Europe next week and Carney will formally leave his post in mid- to late-June. “Jay has become one of my closest friends and is a great press secretary and a great adviser,” said Obama. “He’s got good judgment, he has good temperament and he’s got a good heart. And I’m going to miss him a lot. I will continue to rely on him as a friend, an adviser after he leaves to spend as much of his summer as he can with his kids before he decides what’s next for him.”