CNN veteran Dana Bash will replace John King, the network’s chief national correspondent, as solo anchor of the network’s afternoon political news show, “Inside Politics.”
King, who has worked for CNN since 1997, decided to step away from the show to lead a new reporting project focused on coverage of battleground states in anticipation of the 2024 presidential election cycle.
“It is my tenth presidential cycle and, given the stakes, I felt it was time to get back to my roots reporting across the country,” King said. He called the new job his “back-to-the-future dream assignment.”
For Bash, who will continue to co-anchor the Sunday morning politics show “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper, it will be her first opportunity at the network to host her own daily show.
The anchor transition is also notable because Bash and King were formerly married and share a son.
Bash, who has spent her nearly 30-year career covering campaigns, Capitol Hill and the White House for CNN, said in a statement that she is “excited to helm a program devoted to the politics that impact Americans’ lives.” She added that King’s show “has attracted a loyal audience of political junkies, and I am looking forward to leading its next chapter.”
So far in 2023, “Inside Politics” has averaged 629,000 total viewers per day, ahead of CNN’s total average for the day.
Earlier this week, CNN fired veteran anchor Don Lemon, putting the network’s new morning show in flux. CNN is also working to rebuild a prime-time lineup after moving Lemon from his 10 p.m. slot late last year and dismissing former 9 p.m. star Chris Cuomo in late 2021.
