Maria Bartiromo #
Introduction #
Maria Bartiromo, an American conservative journalist, author, and one of Fox News Media’s busiest and most recognizable anchors, was abruptly let go by the network on September 3, 2026, effective immediately, with no explanation provided. “Effective today, Maria Bartiromo is no longer with FOX News Media,” the company said in a press release, adding, “We thank Maria for her work over the last 12 and a half years and wish her all the best on her next chapter.”[] The Guardian reported that she had been off the air since early August with no reason given and that the abrupt nature of the departure “suggests that it was not voluntary,” noting Fox used similar language when it announced the departure of then-star Tucker Carlson in 2023.
Background Information #
Bartiromo was born Maria Sara Bartiromo on September 11, 1967, in New York City, and was raised in the Dyker Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn before studying at New York University, where she graduated in 1989 with a degree in journalism and economics. She began in broadcasting as a producer, spending five years as an executive producer and assignment editor at CNN Business, before joining CNBC in 1993. There she became the first journalist to deliver live television reports from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and later hosted the interview program Closing Bell from 2002 to 2013. In the 1990s she became widely known as the “money hunny,” a nickname tied to her high-profile reporting and access to corporate executives.
Bartiromo left CNBC in November 2013 to join Fox Business, where she anchored the daily show Mornings with Maria and hosted Sunday Morning Futures on Fox News; she also co-moderated two 2016-cycle Republican presidential debates. In recent years, the Guardian reported, she “became known primarily for her fervent support for Donald Trump,” regularly praising the president on social media. In January 2025 she sat at Trump’s table at a dinner held for his inauguration, writing on Instagram, “The world is watching 47 as he is sworn in less than 3-hours thank you @potus47 for this honor,” and a few months later she posted a photo of herself dining at the White House with Trump and his communications director, Steven Cheung. The following spring she and fellow Fox News host Laura Ingraham were appointed to the board of the Kennedy Center, and some conservatives have suggested she could be a candidate for White House press secretary.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #
Bartiromo became a central figure in two separate defamation lawsuits against Fox News Media stemming from the network’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election. The first, brought by Dominion Voting Systems, was settled in April 2023; the second, a $2.7 billion suit filed by the voting-technology firm Smartmatic in February 2021, remains ongoing. Internal communications released as part of those cases showed that Bartiromo was open to the theory that the 2020 election had been rigged in favor of Joe Biden. “#1 story all trump supporters want right now is stop the steal,” she wrote in a message to a producer, adding, “They do not believe the ejection [sic] was fair or honest. So fox needs to cover it.” In depositions, however, Bartiromo denied knowledge that the claims of election fraud were false, as the voting-technology companies had contended. Documents released in the Smartmatic case also showed that Bartiromo had made $70 million in her career at Fox.
Her dismissal itself was announced without any stated reason. Fox said only that she was “no longer with” the company and thanked her for “the last 12 and a half years,” and the network did not publicly attribute the decision to any specific cause. The timing — coming after roughly a month off air with no explanation — and her entanglement in the election-coverage litigation left the rationale open to speculation.
Public Reaction and Consequences #
The move drew immediate attention for its abruptness. By Thursday afternoon, Fox Business Network had already deleted Bartiromo’s staff page. One Fox News Media employee, speaking to the Guardian and not authorized to comment, captured the speculation swirling around the decision: “Everyone is wondering if she’s going to the administration or whether it was the Smartmatic lawsuit.” Per reporting, the New York Times said her “departure was Fox’s decision” and noted she was the focal point of two major defamation lawsuits against Fox, one of which was still ongoing at the time of her departure.
The network said Bartiromo’s daily Fox Business show would be renamed Mornings with FOX Business and run with rotating anchors for the time being, while her Sunday show would be hosted that weekend by contributor and former congressman Jason Chaffetz, with a permanent replacement to be named later. Oliver Darcy later reported that Bartiromo and her producer Patrick Ignozzi had both been dismissed, reportedly after the network learned Bartiromo had shared confidential editorial guidance from Fox Business executives with members of the Trump administration; that account has not been confirmed by Fox.
Current Status #
As of early September 2026, Bartiromo is no longer with Fox News Media and has not announced a new role. No public reason has been given for the departure, and the Smartmatic defamation lawsuit against her and the network remains pending. Whether she will take a position in the Trump administration, as some conservative commentators have speculated, has not been confirmed.
Impact on Their Career/Life #
The departure ended a tenure of more than twelve and a half years at Fox News Media and closed a defining role as one of the company’s highest-profile anchors, with her shows absorbed and rebranded under the network’s banner. It came at a sensitive moment, with an ongoing defamation suit from her 2020 election coverage still unresolved. Whether the abrupt, unexplained dismissal reflects an internal network decision, a legal matter, or a move toward the administration remains, as of the coverage, an open question.