Obama's Wunderkind Speechwriter Leaving

Jon Favreau may head to Hollywood after 7 years with president
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 5, 2013 11:03 AM CST
Obama's Wunderkind Speechwriter Leaving
Eva Longoria, center, talks with Jon Favreau, left, and David Plouffe, right, during a campaign event at Cheyenne Sports Complex in Las Vegas, Nov. 1, 2012.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Yet another departure from Obama's first term team: Jon Favreau, the president's wunderkind head speechwriter, is moving on. Fittingly, considering with whom he shares his name, Favreau is interested in screenwriting and may end up in Hollywood, the Los Angeles Times reports. Favreau was known for some of his antics (he once groped a cardboard cutout of Hillary Clinton, was photographed shirtless in a Georgetown bar, and has dated Rashida Jones and a Maxim model), but his fellow staffers are quick to sing his praises.

When Obama and Favreau work together, "it's like watching two musicians riff," says David Axelrod. "Jon's stamp is on all of the great speeches, from 2005 until now." Adds David Plouffe, "The president never has to worry that he's going to get something and have to say, 'This isn't my voice.'" In a statement, Obama called Favreau "a friend and a collaborator." Favreau's last day is March 1; he will be replaced by Cody Keenan, another young member of the speechwriting team who wrote the speech Obama gave at the Tucson memorial after Gabrielle Giffords was shot. (More Jon Favreau stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X