Fox News Taps Larry Kudlow to Replace Maria Bartiromo Through Midterms

Fox News Sunday will see a temporary change to its lineup. Fox Business host Larry Kudlow is set to replace Maria Bartiromo on the weekend program, Sunday Morning Futures.

He will temporarily fill Bartiromo’s seat, which she left in early September. Kudlow will begin working on the new program on Sunday, September 27 at 10am EST. He will remain on the program until November 8, Fox News announced on Friday. A new permanent host will be named at a later date. SMF typically gives President Donald Trump and his administration a platform to do interviews freely.

Kudlow has worked for Fox since 2021. He hosts a 4pm weekday show called Kudlow, which focuses on economic issues from a conservative viewpoint, but he also engages in broader economic discussions.

Before joining the network, Kudlow served as director of the National Economic Council.  He was also an assistant to President Trump during his first term, focusing on economic policy. He declined to work for Trump for his second term, focusing on working with Fox. Kudlow worked at CNBC for 25 years before switching over to Fox.

Bartiromo worked at the network for nearly 13 years, and her last day was September 3. “We thank Maria for her work over the last 12 ½ years and wish her all the best on her next chapter,” Fox News Media said in a statement that day. However, before the announcement of her departure, Bartiromo hadn’t appeared on the network since August 9.

Aside from Sunday Morning Futures, she also hosted her FBN morning show, Mornings With Maria, which will now be called Mornings With Fox Business and will feature rotating anchors.

Also, on Friday evenings, Bartiromo hosted Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street. That is being rebranded to FBN’s Wall Street, with another slew of rotating hosts.

Her attorney claimed that she was not fired from the show. Attorney Bryan Freedman told The Hollywood Reporter, “For many years, Maria Bartiromo hosted three number-one-rated television shows on Fox channels. She has been, without question, one of the hardest-working journalists throughout her award-winning career.”

“The irresponsible reports that have been published stating that Maria Bartiromo was fired or is no longer an employee of Fox are absolutely and unequivocally false. Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise. Those reporting her firing or the incredulous facts supporting that fiction have exhibited a complete and utter reckless disregard for the truth.”

According to Status, Bartiromo was accused of leaking an internal document, a text from a Fox executive, to the White House. The contents of the correspondence reportedly related to the network’s decision to limit coverage of Trump’s primetime speech about the 2020 election, in which he claimed others, including China, had interfered in the 2020 election (which he lost to Joe Biden).