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Chuck Todd Departing NBC Show 'Meet the Press' After 9 Years with Kristen Welker Taking Over

"As I’ve watched too many friends and family let work consume them before it was too late, I promised my family I wouldn’t do that," Todd said during Sunday's broadcast

<p>D Dipasupil/Getty Images for AWXII; Paul Morigi/Getty </p> Chuck Todd and Kristen Welker

D Dipasupil/Getty Images for AWXII; Paul Morigi/Getty

Chuck Todd and Kristen Welker

Chuck Todd is saying “goodbye” to Meet the Press.

During his usual broadcast on Sunday, Todd, 51, revealed that after a nine-year-long run, this summer will be his last as moderator of the iconic NBC program.

“I am really proud of what this team and I have built over the last decade,” the journalist said. “I’ve loved so much of this job, helping to explain America to Washington and explain Washington to America.”

Todd added that the “key to the survival” of media entities like Meet the Press is “for leaders to not overstay their welcome,” adding that he would “rather leave a little bit too soon than stay a tad too long.”

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The Meet the Press moderator also shared personal reasons for his September departure.

“I’ve let work consume me for nearly 30 years,” he said. “I can’t remember the last time I didn’t wake up before 5 or 6 a.m.”

He continued, “As I’ve watched too many friends and family let work consume them before it was too late, I promised my family I wouldn’t do that.”

“And just as importantly — and this is what really makes me happy — I’m also ready to take a step back because I have so much confidence in the person I’m going to pass the baton to,” Todd said of Kristen Welker, who will fill Todd’s shoes as moderator in the fall.

Todd said that Welker, 46, who is currently a White House correspondent for NBC News, has “been ready for this for a long time.”

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“For what it’s worth, this is always how I hoped this would end for me, that I’d be passing the baton to her,” Todd said of Welker, who said he has worked with since “essentially” his first day in Washington.

In a tweet shared Sunday, Welker stated that Todd “has been a mentor and friend” since her first day at NBC.

“I’ve learned so much from sitting with him at the anchor desk and simply experiencing his passion for politics,” she wrote in the tweet, adding that she is “humbled and grateful” to continue to build the program’s legacy.

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While Todd’s time moderating the NBC show may be up, he says he is going to stick around to help the network “navigate and coach colleagues in this 2024 campaign season and beyond.”

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Read the original article on People.