CNN announced a notable change on Thursday morning: Dana Bash is the new host of Inside Politics on weekdays.
Bash is a 30-year CNN veteran and is finally getting the opportunity to solo-host her own show.
“I am thrilled to be taking over as anchor of Inside Politics,” Bash, the network’s chief political correspondent, said in a statement. “After nearly 30 years at CNN covering campaigns, Capitol Hill and the White House, I am excited to helm a program devoted to the politics that impact Americans’ lives. John built an extraordinary show that has attracted a loyal audience of political junkies, and I am looking forward to leading its next chapter.”
Bash, a producer on Inside Politics early in her career, will also continue as co-anchor of State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
What happens to John King, you ask? The longtime Inside Politics host also serves as CNN’s chief national correspondent, and has been tapped to lead a new reporting project focused on voters in key battleground states as the 2024 presidential campaign cycle gets underway. The CNN project will follow the voters who pick Presidents and settle close races.
“This is my ‘back to the future’ dream assignment,” King said in a statement. “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 will remain a staple throughout CNN’s live election and special coverage and will still hold court at his “Magic Wall.”
Inside Politics debuted on CNN in 1992, and ended in 2005 when then-host Judy Woodruff declined to renew her contract with the network.
The network resurrected the program in 2014 with King as host. The revamped show featured a rotating panel of political reporters, originally airing Sundays at 8:30 a.m. ET. Inside Politics was expanded to additional weekday broadcasts in 2016, which King led. Abby Phillip was named host of Inside Politics Sunday in 2021 and will continue to host Sunday version, which airs weekly at 11 a.m. ET.
King joined CNN in 1997 and was named chief national correspondent in 2005. Before anchoring John King USA, which was canceled in 2012, he anchored State of the Union.
Bash and King were married from 2008-2012 and share a son.