Press Secretary Jay Carney paid tribute to ABC News' Barbara Walters at the White House today, joking that he doesn't believe she's actually going to retire at the end of this week.

"I expect we'll be getting an interview request within weeks," he quipped at the top of the daily briefing.

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"She has interviewed every president and first lady since Richard Nixon, been on television for more than five decades, and claims she's retiring on Friday. I don't believe it," he said.

"But given that at least officially Barbara Walters is retiring, and she's an institution, I'd like to offer her the congratulations of everyone here at the White House, including President Obama and the first lady," Carney said.

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