“Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd plans to leave the long-running NBC political talk show, he announced Sunday, saying this would be his final summer in the role.
Todd, who became the Sunday morning program’s moderator in 2014, will be replaced by NBC News colleague Kristen Welker.
“I’ve loved so much of this job, helping to explain America to Washington and explaining Washington to America,” Todd said on Sunday’s broadcast.
Todd’s version of “Meet the Press” is the 12th iteration of the show since it launched in 1947 with co-creator Martha Rountree as its host.
He said he’s “proud” of what the show accomplished during his tenure, saying, “We didn’t tolerate propagandists, and this network and program never will.”
“While I may be leaving this chair, I’m still going to help NBC navigate and coach colleagues in this 2024 campaign season and beyond,” Todd said Sunday. “But this is also an important time for me personally. I’ve let work consume me for nearly 30 years. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t wake up before 5 or 6 a.m., and as I’ve watched too many friends and family let work consume them before it was too late, I promised my family I wouldn’t do that.”
Todd, 51, joined NBC News in 2007 and previously served as the network’s political director. He didn’t disclose his final day nor the start date for Welker, who has regularly filled in for Todd in recent years.
Todd said he has “so much confidence” in Welker, who joined NBC News in 2010 and became a White House correspondent the following year.
“@chucktodd has been a mentor and friend since my first day at @NBCNews,” Welker tweeted Sunday. “I’ve learned so much from sitting with him at the anchor desk and simply experiencing his passion for politics. I’m humbled and grateful to take the baton and continue to build on the legacy of @MeetThePress.”
Welker, 46, is set to become the first female moderator of “Meet the Press” since Rountree, whose tenure ended in 1953.