US was surprised Mubarak refused to step down: White House

The Obama Administration was left surprised and disappointed after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had announced in his address that he was not stepping down, the White House said.

"I think everyone was surprised a bit at this," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters in his last press briefing, when asked if the developments in Cairo on Thursday night surprised them.

"I think that throughout the morning and into last night gotten indications that the last speeches may not have been given and the last changes, particularly this morning with everybody reporting that there would be a statement from the office of the (Egyptian) President," Gibbs said.

Obama was in a scheduled meeting in his Oval Office when a note was taken in to him to let him know that Mubarak had resigned.

"And since then, prior to giving the statement, he spent about an hour with his national security team from about 1:30 to 2:30 in the Situation Room talking about what's going on there now and what we have to plan for now going forward," he said.