The Washington Post reports that Jon Favreau, the hard-partying director of speechwriting in the Obama White House, is planning to leave his position shortly after the 2013 inauguration.
The photogenic Favreau entered the White House following high acclaim for his work on the 2008 Obama campaign. He proceeded to take the D.C. social scene by storm.
The subject of multiple glowing magazine profiles, Favreau quickly eclipsed less photogenic campaign colleagues such as then-deputy press secretary and Priorities USA founder Bill Burton and Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt.
Favreau (who friends congenially refer to as "Favs") capitalized on his newfound fame and embraced the "celebrity" scene in the nation’s capital. He became a regular at 2009 hipster hotspots in DC’s trendy U Street corridor, allegedly hooked up with actress (and daughter of Obama-donor/uber-producer Quincy Jones) Rashida Jones, and patched things up with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (of whom Favs once lewdly groped a cardboard cutout).
But the good times for Favreau stopped during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which was caused by the Obama-supporting oil company BP.
Favreau was photographed topless on day 43 of the Deepwater Horizon Crisis, and 12 days before Obama’s widely panned national address on the topic, along with close friend and National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor (also topless) playing the drinking game known as "beer pong."
The pictures of the topless twosome quickly went viral and badly damaged the White House’s image during its handling of the BP crisis. The D.C. media establishment piled on the young staffer, diminishing Favreau’s star status.
When contacted with the news that Favreau is planning to leave the White House, the photojournalist who captured Favreau’s shirtless, alcohol-fueled cavorting told the Free Beacon: "I wish him the best of luck. Wherever he lands is going to be lucky to have such a talented player."