Fox News Media announced on Thursday, September 3, 2026, that anchor Maria Bartiromo is no longer with the company. In a statement, the network thanked Bartiromo for her 12 and a half years of work and wished her well. The company did not provide a specific reason for her departure, which was effective immediately.
Bartiromo joined Fox after a career as a financial journalist at CNBC. During her tenure at Fox, she hosted "Mornings with Maria" on the Fox Business Network and "Sunday Morning Futures" on Fox News. She had been off the air since early August, though the network had not previously commented on her absence.
The network stated that Bartiromo's weekday program will be renamed "Mornings with FOX Business" and will feature rotating anchors. For the upcoming edition of "Sunday Morning Futures," contributor and former congressman Jason Chaffetz will serve as host, with a permanent replacement to be named later. By Thursday afternoon, Bartiromo's staff page had been removed from the Fox Business Network website.
Bartiromo was featured in two defamation lawsuits filed against Fox News Media by voting technology companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic regarding coverage of the 2020 presidential election. While the Dominion case was settled in April 2023, litigation with Smartmatic is ongoing. Legal documents released during the Smartmatic case reported that Bartiromo earned $70 million during her career at Fox.
The departure affects the viewing schedule for Bartiromo’s three-hour weekday morning block and her weekly Sunday program. For the immediate future, the Fox Business Network will use a rotating series of guest hosts during the morning hours. A permanent change for the Sunday morning time slot is expected at a later date.
The move comes as Fox News Media continues to manage the ongoing Smartmatic defamation lawsuit. Bartiromo was a figure in the legal discovery for that case, with internal messages showing she stated that Fox needed to cover claims regarding the 2020 election. Court-released documents previously reported her lifetime earnings at the company totaled $70 million.
The exit of the anchor, who frequently interviewed Donald Trump, has led to speculation regarding her next steps. While some have suggested Bartiromo could be considered for a role in the Trump administration, such as White House press secretary, no official appointment has been made. Bartiromo was appointed to the board of the Kennedy Center in the spring of 2026.
Jason Chaffetz will host the Sunday morning program on September 6, 2026. The network has indicated that a permanent host for that time slot will be announced at a later date. Further details regarding the status of the ongoing Smartmatic litigation or any future professional roles for Bartiromo have not been reported.