Chuck Todd will depart NBC's 'Meet the Press'; Kristen Welker to become host

"Meet the Press" big and moderator Chuck Todd announced connected Sunday that helium volition measurement down this twelvemonth aft 9 years hosting the nationalist affairs speech show. Kristen Welker, NBC News' co-chief White House correspondent, volition win him.

"It's been an astonishing astir decadelong run. I americium truly arrogant of what this squad and I person built implicit the past decade," Todd said during the broadcast Sunday. "I've loved truthful overmuch of this job, helping to explicate America to Washington and explicate Washington to America." 

He plans to stay astatine NBC successful a caller relation arsenic main governmental analyst, wherever helium volition service arsenic a cardinal dependable some successful the tract and during sum of large events. He volition besides absorption connected longform journalism.

"When I took implicit 'Meet the Press,' it was a Sunday amusement that had a batch of radical questioning whether it inactive could person a spot successful the modern media space," Todd added. "Well, I deliberation we've answered that question and past some."

In a memo to unit members, NBC News' president of editorial, Rebecca Blumenstein, and NBC News' elder vice president of politics, Carrie Budoff Brown, hailed "Chuck's thoughtful and passionate leadership."

"'Meet the Press' has sustained its historical relation arsenic the indispensable quality programme connected Sunday mornings," Blumenstein and Budoff Brown said. "Through his penetrating interviews with galore of the astir important newsmakers, the amusement has played an indispensable relation successful authorities and policy, routinely made front-page news, and framed the reasoning successful Washington and beyond."

Welker joins the ranks of hosts that included Tim Russert, who presided implicit the amusement from 1991 until his decease successful 2008. She is the 2nd pistillate — pursuing its inaugural host, Martha Rountree — and the archetypal Black writer to mean "Meet the Press."

"Meet the Press" is the longest-running amusement connected American television, celebrating its 75th day past year. It has led its rival shows successful full viewers for much than 8 years and won its archetypal Emmy during Todd's tenure for a peculiar study titled "Schools, America, and Race."

Todd was astatine the helm of the amusement during immoderate of the astir seminal governmental events of the past decennary — including the last years of President Barack Obama's administration, the 2016 statesmanlike run and the predetermination of  Donald Trump, and the aftermath of the U.S. Capitol riot connected Jan. 6, 2021.

In 1 of the astir memorable interviews of the aboriginal Trump era, Todd asked Kellyanne Conway, 1 of Trump's apical aides, wherefore then-White House property caput Sean Spicer utilized his archetypal quality successful the briefing country to quality reports astir the assemblage size astatine the inauguration. Conway replied that Spicer was providing "alternative facts" — a crook of operation that rapidly became synonymous with the Trump administration's cognition towards facts and the quality media.

In response, Todd said: "Look, alternate facts are not facts. They're falsehoods."

Todd — the 12th moderator of "Meet the Press" and a five-time Emmy-winning writer — saw himself arsenic a custodian of the show. "I don't ain this, I'm conscionable location sitting," helium said during a 75th day solemnisation successful Washington past year. "I privation to permission it successful amended signifier for the adjacent person, and each idiosyncratic has done that."

Welker has regularly filled successful for Todd connected "Meet the Press." In his remarks during Sunday's broadcast, Todd said helium was acceptable to measurement backmost successful portion due to the fact that Welker has been "ready for this for a agelong time."  

"I've had the privilege of moving with her from fundamentally her archetypal day, and fto maine conscionable accidental she's the close idiosyncratic successful the close moment," helium said.

Welker joined NBC News successful 2010 and became a mainstay successful the White House briefing room. She's covered the past 3 statesmanlike elections, traveled astir the satellite with apical governmental leaders, and moderated the last 2020 debate between Trump and President Joe Biden. In 2020 she was named the co-host of "Weekend Today."

"She has masterfully moderated superior and wide predetermination statesmanlike debates and her crisp questioning of lawmakers is simply a masterclass successful governmental interviews," Blumenstein and Budoff Brown said successful their memo to unit members. "She is simply a dogged newsman who relishes getting large scoops and is wide admired passim the bureau and the web for her profoundly collaborative nature."

Welker volition instrumentality implicit the amusement arsenic the 2024 statesmanlike run heats up and prepares to participate the superior season. The archetypal GOP statement is scheduled for Aug. 23, the Republican National Committee announced past week.

Todd took implicit "Meet the Press" successful September 2014, succeeding David Gregory, expanding the program's broadcast and integer footprint to see a play podcast, a blog and an yearly movie festival. In summation to the Sunday program, helium helped motorboat and hosted "MTP Daily," a weekday mentation of the amusement that aired connected MSNBC earlier moving to the streaming work NBC News Now past year.

He antecedently served arsenic NBC News' main White House analogous and big of the MSNBC bid "The Daily Rundown." Before arriving astatine NBC, Chuck was editor-in-chief of The Hotline, a governmental quality and commentary website, wherever helium developed a estimation arsenic an incisive elections expert with a speedy bid of data.

Disclosure: NBC News and CNBC are units of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast.