Maria Bartiromo departs Fox News
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Fox News announced Maria Bartiromo departed Thursday after 12 ½ years.
Her lawyer denies a firing, so the reason remains publicly disputed.
Background
Bartiromo joined Fox in 2012 after a 21-year career at CNBC, where she hosted Closing Bell, and became a fixture hosting three programs: Sunday Morning Futures, the daily Mornings with Maria, and a Friday evening show. Fox announced her departure effective Thursday without giving a reason, and her biography was deleted from Fox Business's website. Reports in the Status newsletter, later matched by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, said she was dismissed after sharing internal Fox communications with the White House; her lawyer calls those reports false.
How it unfolded
- Sep 3, 2026Fox News Media announces Bartiromo is no longer with the network, effective that day, thanking her for 12 ½ years but giving no reason; her Fox Business biography is deleted.
- Sep 3, 2026The Status newsletter reports she was fired after sharing internal Fox communications with the White House; the New York Times and Wall Street Journal later report the same, which NBC News says it has not verified.
- Sep 3, 2026Trump posts on Truth Social that he can't believe she is leaving, calling her a total professional and a true warrior.
- Sep 4, 2026Attorney Bryan Freedman says reports that Bartiromo was fired are absolutely and unequivocally false, adding that they have the receipts and witnesses.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Fox called the departure a business decision and thanked Bartiromo for her 12 ½ years, without explaining why she left.
- Support
- Bartiromo's lawyer Bryan Freedman says reports that she was fired are absolutely and unequivocally false and that they have the receipts and witnesses.
- Caution
- The Nation argued she deserved to be fired and that the real scandal was that it did not happen long ago, citing her spreading of election denial claims.
Still unverified
The reason for the departure is disputed: Status, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported she was dismissed after sharing internal Fox communications with the White House, but NBC News says it has not verified those reports, Fox gave no reason, and her lawyer denies she was fired, saying she is still on contract at Fox.