In a surprise announcement, Kayla Tausche, CNN’s senior White House correspondent, is parting ways with the network just two years after being recruited from CNBC in what was once hailed as a major journalistic coup.
Her departure adds to a growing list of high-profile exits from the embattled network, which is grappling with plummeting viewership, a shifting corporate strategy, and an identity crisis in the post-Trump media landscape.
Tausche, 38, made a name for herself at CNBC, where she served as a senior White House correspondent and anchor during the early Biden years. Her portfolio included hosting Squawk Alley from 2014 to 2017 and co-anchoring coverage during pivotal national moments, including the 2020 election and both Trump and Biden inaugurations.
CNN welcomed her in 2023 with great fanfare, emphasizing her deep reporting experience in economics, technology, and foreign policy—areas that were expected to be central to the network’s expanded White House coverage as the Biden administration pursued re-election.
In a farewell note obtained by Status, Tausche didn’t elaborate on her reasons for leaving, simply writing: “I’m off to chase the next big story.” For those tracking the network’s recent volatility, the subtext may speak louder than the words.
Tausche’s exit lands at a precarious time for CNN, which is hemorrhaging viewers and struggling to find its place in a fragmented media market. According to Nielsen’s April 2025 ratings, CNN failed to chart a single program in the top 25 most-watched weekday news shows. In stark contrast, Fox News dominated, occupying 13 of the top 14 slots and extending its lead with a potent mix of opinion-driven primetime programming and broader audience loyalty.
CNN’s efforts to revamp its White House coverage—most notably by promoting Kaitlan Collins to Chief White House Correspondent—have yet to yield results. While Collins has become a recognizable face in CNN’s anti-Trump positioning, the broader strategy appears to be faltering in an environment where trust, clarity, and differentiation matter more than ever.
Complicating matters further, CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is reportedly mulling a split of its cable properties, including CNN, as it seeks to offset steep losses driven by cord-cutting and digital disruption. The move mirrors a similar restructuring by Comcast, which is preparing MSNBC and other struggling cable assets for sale.
The industry-wide retreat from legacy cable models has sparked speculation about whether CNN’s new talent shakeups and departures—like Tausche’s—are part of a broader transition toward streaming-first models or even divestiture.
