Speed Reads

happy friday

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

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."

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