White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers confirmed Friday that she is leaving her top-level post, saying "It's time for me to move on to other things."
Myers, the first female presidential press secretary, said her last working day will be Thursday. Her successor reportedly will be State Department spokesman Michael McCurry.Her resignation was first reported by The Washington Post.
"It's been fun, I've enjoyed it a lot," she told reporters, adding with a smile "I didn't say all of it."
Ever since chief of staff Leon Panetta took over day-to-day operations at the White House, Myers has been rumored to be on her way out, but after a meeting with President Clinton she was promoted to the rank of assistant to the president. She was given a higher salary as well as the prestigious office space occupied previously by her predecessors, but it was all apparently with the understanding that she would be leaving at year's end.
Myers told reporters she has had a lot of job offers and will mull them over when she spends Christmas at her grandmother's home in Racine, Wis., and New Year's with friends in Paris.
"I'm walking away at an appropriate time," she said, adding she is still very supportive of Clinton. "It's been great an amazing experience," she said.
Myers, 33, had been involved in California politics before she joined the Clinton campaign in Little Rock, Ark.
At the White House, she has proved to be a quick study, witty and irreverent. A strong defender of the president, she often clashed with reporters when she felt the questions were unfair.