Chuck Todd said Sunday he'll be leaving “Meet the Press” after a tumultuous near-decade of moderating the NBC political panel show, to be replaced in the coming months by Kristen Welker.
Todd, 51, told viewers that “I've watched too many friends and family let work consume them before it was too late” and that he'd promised his family he wouldn't do that.
Todd has often been an online punching bag for critics during a polarized time, and there were rumors that his time at the show would be short when its executive producer was reassigned at the end of last summer. It's unclear when Todd's last show will be, but he told viewers that this would be his final summer.
“I leave feeling concerned about this moment in history but reassured by the standards we've set here,” Todd said. “We didn't tolerate propagandists and this network and program never will.”
Welker, a former chief White House correspondent, has been at NBC News in Washington since 2011 and has been Todd's chief fill-in for the past three years. She drew praise for moderating the final presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden in 2020.
Her “sharp questioning of lawmakers is a masterclass in political interviews,” Rebecca Blumenstein, NBC News president of editorial, said in a memo announcing Welker's elevation on Sunday.
Now Welker, 46, will be thrust into what promises to be another contentious presidential election cycle.
