NBC News chief political analyst and former Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd announced his departure in a memo shared to his staff on Friday (January 31), which was obtained by USA TODAY.

Todd, 52, who has contributed to NBC News since 2007, confirmed that he will begin the "next chapter" of his career elsewhere but will be bringing his podcast, the ChuckToddcast with him.

"There's never a perfect time to leave a place that's been a professional home for so long, but I'm pretty excited about a few new projects that are on the cusp of going from 'pie in the sky' to 'near reality.' So I'm grateful for the chance to get a jump start on my next chapter during this important moment," Todd said in the memo obtained USA TODAY. "The 'ChuckToddcast' is also coming with me (thank you NBC). Stay tuned for an announcement about its new home soon. Needless to say, I do plan to continue to share my reporting and unique perspective of covering politics with data and history as important baselines in understanding where we were, where we are and where we're going."

Todd's sudden departure was even more surprising given that it started with the beginning of President Donald Trump's new administration. The veteran broadcaster teased a possible newsletter with an independent publishing site, a road followed by many other television journalists making a career transition.

"The media has a lot of work to do to win back the trust of viewers/listeners/readers and I’m convinced the best place to start is from the bottom up. At my core, I'm an entrepreneur — I spent my first 15 years professionally working for the company that started the political newsletter craze that dominates today. And this is a ripe moment," Todd said in apparent reference to the country's divide as Trump takes office once again.

"National media can't win trust back without having a robust partner locally and trying to game algorithms is no way to inform and report, he added. "People are craving community and that's something national media or the major social media companies can't do as well as local media."

Todd, who succeeded David Gregory in 2014, stepped down as host and moderator of Meet the Press in July 2023, instead taking on the role as NBC News' chief political analyst. The Florida native was initially brought on by the late Tim Russert, Meet the Press' longest-serving moderator, from The Hotline in March 2007.

Vicki McKenna