CNN Anchor Reveals Departure from Network During Live Broadcast

On Monday, a CNN anchor delivered unexpected news, declaring her departure at the week’s end.

Rahel Solomon, the host of Early Start, shared this personal announcement at the close of her usual 5 a.m. broadcast.

“I’ve decided this will be my last week at CNN,” Solomon revealed, hinting at future plans with enthusiasm. “I’m really excited about this next chapter,” she added during her sign-off.

The official Early Start account on platform X quickly shared the announcement with its audience.

“Thank you to the team at Early Start,” Solomon expressed. “And to the larger CNN team – I’ll be cheering you on and look forward to watching.”

Solomon, 37, said Friday would be her last show. She did not share any other plans.

‘So this is truly not goodbye, but see you soon,’ the correspondent said.

The 37-year-old recently returned from six months of maternity leave in December. She was initially tapped to host ‘Early Start’ the March before. 

Early Start anchor Rahel Solomon announced that Friday will be her last show at the end of her program on Monday

Solomon, 37, has been with the network since 2022. She joined from CNBC and only anchored her show for a few months

Solomon began the stint after roughly three years at the network. She joined CNN from CNBC in 2022 after spells with Colorado and Philadelphia’s CBS affiliates.

She married Philadelphia-based lawyer Marcel S. Pratt in July 2024. The two welcomed a baby girl the following year. Solomon was then out for six months starting in June.

Solomon’s fellow staffers were said to be ‘supportive’ of her decision to leave, the Daily Mail learned.

The decision comes just three months on from her return to the air.

Solomon has yet to announce her next professional step.

The Daily Mail has approached CNN for comment.

The network’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is currently in the process of being sold to Paramount for more than $100billion.

Journalists are bucking at the prospect of coming under the purview of Paramount’s Trump-friendly CEO, David Ellison, sources told Status when the deal was agreed upon in February.

The network’s parent company is currently in the process of being sold to rival media company Paramount. The CNN center is seen here in Atlanta, Georgia

Solomon (fourth from left) is seen here with then-costars Sara Sidner, Poppy Harlow, Phil Mattingly, Melissa Mahtani, and Abby Phillip at the Kodak Theatre in 2023

Ellison went on to insist this month that CNN’s ‘editorial independence’ will be ‘maintained’ if and when the merger is federally approved while speaking to Warner execs on the studio’s lot in Burbank.

Several have speculated that the merger would mean an also-merged CNN and CBS News. 

CNN, meanwhile, is recording record low viewership during the day and primetime, according to Nielsen.

Hosts such as Solomon – and even fixtures like Wolf Blitzer and Abby Phillip – have failed to move the needle. 

Worsening the waning linear ratings are constant barbs from the administration. 

Donald Trump said back in December of CNN parent Warner: ‘I don’t think the people that are running that company right now and running CNN – which is a very dishonest group of people – I don’t think that should be allowed to continue.

‘I think CNN should be sold along with everything,’ he added at the time.

Paramount CEO David Ellison’s father, billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, is also a well-known Trump ally. 

Hollywood tech scion David Ellison was tapped to be Paramount’s chief executive over the summer. He recently said he was honored to ‘steward’ CNN into the current age

Pictured, Donald Trump and Oracle founder Ellison at the White House in January.  Trump said back in December of CNN parent Warner: ‘I don’t think the people that are running that company right now and running CNN… I don’t think that should be allowed to continue’

CNN star Anderson Cooper stepped away from his longtime second gig at 60 Minutes on CBS earlier this year before Paramount had its bid for Warner accepted.

Several other journalists have left the network since Ellison was named CEO over the summer. 

As was the case with the Paramount-Skydance merger last year, the $111billion acquisition of Warner still requires regulatory approval.