Spokesman Robert Gibbs part of White House shake-up (2nd Roundup)

Jan 5, 2011, 22:11 GMT

Washington - White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, a long-time confidant of President Barack Obama, announced Wednesday that he will be leaving his post by early February.

Gibbs' departure is part of a wider shake-up of Obama's inner circle of advisors as he enters the second half of his first term in office. David Axelrod, another confidant, is preparing to leave to run Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.

Obama plans to name a new chief economic advisor Friday to replace Larry Summers, and there is speculation that he could name a new White House chief of staff in the coming days.

In a statement, Obama said Gibbs was one of his 'closest advisors' and an 'effective advocate' for his policies. He added that Gibbs will continue to have a role in the White House.

'I think its natural for him to want to step back, reflect and retool,' Obama said.

Gibbs and Axelrod have been part of Obama's inner circle since the president first ran for an open US Senate seat in 2004 in Illinois. Gibbs has handled the daily briefings and reporters' inquiries since Obama took office in January 2009.

'I've enjoyed every time I've come out here,' Gibbs said in his daily briefing Wednesday. He added that it was natural for a president to bring in some fresh faces after two years in office.

'You have to admit, there's a bubble in here to some degree,' Gibbs said of the White House.

But Obama will still be looking to familiar faces for advice. Axelrod will be replaced by David Plouffe, who managed Obama's 2008 election campaign, while media have speculated that Gibbs will be replaced by deputy spokesman Bill Burton or Jay Carney, Vice President Joe Biden's spokesman.

Obama is reportedly choosing on who to manage the White House's affairs between acting chief of staff Pete Rouse, who served in the same post when Obama was in the Senate, and William Daley, a fellow Chicago native and commerce secretary under former president Bill Clinton.

The job opened when former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel left in November to run for Chicago mayor, a race in which he has become the leading contender.

Gibbs plans to continue advocating the administration's policies on television programmes and speeches. He plans to leave shortly after Obama gives his annual State of the Union speech later this month.

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