The White House is having the West Wing press secretary do today's briefing

Allison Janney makes guest appearance in the White House for press conference.
(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

The White House decided to mix things up at its daily press briefing Friday by having a fictional character step into Press Secretary Josh Earnest's role. Yes, seriously.

Allison Janney, who played the whip-smart press secretary C.J. Cregg on The West Wing, took over the podium while Earnest was supposedly out of commission for a root canal.

"But let's be honest," Janney said, "I'm better at this anyway."

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Watch Janney's briefing, which — spoiler alert — Earnest eventually crashes, below. Becca Stanek

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