A CNN anchor has unexpectedly revealed her departure from the network by the week’s end.
Rahel Solomon, host of Early Start, concluded her 5am show on Monday with a personal announcement.
“I’ve made the decision that this will be my final week at CNN. I’ll share more about what’s ahead, but I’m thrilled for this new chapter,” she announced during the transition.
The official X account for the show promptly posted the announcement.
“Thank you to the Early Start team,” Solomon expressed. “To the larger CNN team – I’ll be cheering you on from the sidelines and can’t wait to see what’s next.”
Solomon mentioned her last appearance would be on Friday, leaving her future endeavors unspecified.
‘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, doing so 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 with CNN on Monday morning
Solomon, 37, has been with the network since 2022. She joined CNN from CNBC, only anchoring Early Start for a few months
The stint followed roughly three years at the network. Solomon 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 in 2025. Solomon stepped away temporarily in June.
Solomon’s fellow staffers were said to be ‘supportive’ of her decision to leave for good, the Daily Mail learned. The departure was an amicable one, the Mail understands.
The decision comes just three months removed from Solomon’s return to the air last year.
The network’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is currently being sold to rival company 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 inked in February.
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.
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
Several observers have speculated that the move would mean an also-merged CNN and CBS News.
CNN, meanwhile, is suffering 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.
CNN mainstay 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.
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’
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.
The FCC will conduct a review beforehand. The move would grant Paramount ownership of CNN, HBO Max, and Warner Bros.’s movie and TV studios.
A CNN spokesperson, meanwhile, told the Mail in a statement: ‘We are grateful to Rahel for all her contributions to CNN over the past four years and are supportive of her decision. We wish her all the best in her next chapter.’
