Chuck Todd will hand over the reins to Kristen Welker, 47, who has served as NBC’s chief White House correspondent since 2011.
The longest-running TV program is the Sunday morning political programme, which has been airing since 1947. Welker is the second woman and first Black journalist to serve as moderator in the organization’s seven-decade history. She also holds the distinction of being the 13th moderator overall. According to the Poynter Institute, the first was Martha Rountree, who served as the forum’s inaugural moderator from 1947 to 1953.
Chuck Todd, who predated her, ran the show for nine years. He said it was “a privilege” to hand the reins over to Welker on his final program as moderator and her final broadcast as a guest on Sunday.
And Welker is ready for it, telling USA Today, “I’m taking the baton from Chuck at a pivotal moment in our political discourse. So it’s a huge responsibility.”
Welker’s work history is notably distinctive because it began with NBC. While still in college, she interned at Today and eventually worked as a researcher for Weekend Today.
As a network journalist located in Burbank, California, she joined NBC News in 2010. Since December 2011, she has covered the White House, including the administrations of Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and the 2020 presidential election. According to her NBC profile, she oversees the network’s coverage of the Biden administration.
