Politics
High-Profile CNN Contributor Quietly Leaves Network
Kayla Tausche, CNN’s senior White House correspondent, is leaving the network just two years after she was hired away from CNBC with much fanfare.
Tausche, 38, did not provide a reason for her sudden departure in a goodbye note obtained by Status . “I’m off to chase the next big story,” veteran reporter wrote to her colleagues.
Tausche left CNBC after serving as senior White House correspondent and anchor during the first two years of the Biden Administration. She had also co-hosted CNBC’s 2020 election night coverage and inauguration, as well as the first Trump administration.
She previously joined CNBC in 2011 and hosted the network’s “Squawk Alley” program from 2014 through 2017.
CNN — which has for years been juggling staff in an effort to boost declining ratings — spoke highly of Tausche’s background and considered the hiring to be a major boost to the network when it was announced.
The network said the Atlanta native “brings a background rich in economic, technology, and foreign policy that will bolster CNN’s coverage of these vital areas as President Biden seeks to win reelection in 2024,” in a statement at the time.
Earlier this year, the network ordered a major shakeup of its White House coverage and added several new members to the team. Kaitlan Collins was named Chief White House correspondent and has largely served as the face of the network’s anti-Trump coverage, in addition to hosting an evening program.
According to the latest Nielsen data for April 2025, CNN failed to land a single program in the top 25 most-watched weekday news shows. Meanwhile, Fox News didn’t just lead the pack—it swept it, claiming 13 of the top 14 spots and outpacing its competition by staggering margins.
The latest departure comes as CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery said it was considering splitting off its cable properties to offset mounting losses from cord-cutting.
Comcast has announced a similar plan in order to offset losses from MSNBC, which has also posted abysmal ratings. The company packaged MSNBC, as well as a number of additional cable channels, into a new company in preparation for a sale.
