Maria Bartiromo is out at Fox News and Fox Business Network, effective Thursday, after more than 12 years anchoring some of the network’s flagship business programming. Her final “Mornings with Maria” broadcast on FBN aired Thursday morning, hours before Fox confirmed she was leaving the company. No reason was given.
Fox News Media’s statement on the split was brief: the company thanked Bartiromo “for her work over the last 12-and-a-half years” and wished her well “on her next chapter,” language that stopped short of explaining why one of the network’s most recognizable hosts was leaving so abruptly.
A Sudden End to a Long Run
Bartiromo joined Fox Business and Fox News in 2014 after a long career at CNBC, where she had earned the nickname “Money Honey” for her pioneering coverage of Wall Street. At Fox, she built a reputation not just as a markets anchor but as one of the network’s most prominent interviewers of Republican officials, including recurring sit-downs with President Trump.
The abruptness of her exit has drawn comparisons to Tucker Carlson’s sudden removal from Fox News in 2023, another case where a marquee host was gone with no public explanation from management.
What Changes on Fox Business and Fox News
Fox is already reshuffling the schedule Bartiromo leaves behind. “Mornings with Maria” becomes “Mornings with Fox Business,” airing weekdays from 6 to 9 a.m. ET with rotating anchors starting Friday. “Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street” is being rebranded “FBN’s Wall Street,” hosted by Cheryl Casone alongside rotating anchors.
On the Fox News Channel side, “Sunday Morning Futures” will be hosted this weekend by Jason Chaffetz, the former Utah congressman who has become a regular Fox contributor. Fox has not named a permanent replacement for that slot, and the network says an updated Fox Business weekday lineup is coming in the following weeks.
The Trump Connection
Bartiromo has spent the past decade as one of Trump’s most consistently favorable interviewers on cable news, a relationship that made her exit immediately fodder for speculation about a jump to the administration. Her departure lands the same week Karoline Leavitt stepped down as White House press secretary, and multiple outlets, including Deadline, reported chatter that Bartiromo could be in the running to replace her.
Deadline’s reporting is more cautious than that speculation suggests, though. Sources told the outlet that Bartiromo’s Fox exit does not appear to be tied to a confirmed White House job offer, at least not yet, even as they acknowledged how close her rapport with Trump has grown. Other names reportedly under consideration for the press secretary role include Stephen Miller, Scott Jennings and Anna Kelly, and Trump has not announced a decision.
In other words, the Trump angle so far is speculation grounded in timing and history, not a confirmed reason for why Fox and Bartiromo parted ways. Neither side has said what actually happened, and Fox’s own statement offered nothing beyond a thank-you.
What to Watch
Two threads are worth following from here: whether the Trump administration actually taps Bartiromo for a role now that Leavitt’s old job is open, and whether Fox eventually says more about why its longest-tenured business anchor left the way Tucker Carlson did two years ago, with a network statement full of gratitude and empty of explanation.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Fox News Media and Barrett Media.
