Former Meet the Press host Chuck Todd appears to be plotting his exit from NBC News, holding private discussions with rival media organizations as his relationship with the network continues to deteriorate. According to Semafor, Todd has been meeting with “top editors and leaders from other media organizations” to explore “potential roles outside the network both in broadcast and digital media” ahead of his contract’s expiration later this year. The veteran political analyst’s departure would end a nearly two-decade tenure at NBC News that began in 2007.

The news follows Todd’s 2023 replacement by Kristen Welker as Meet the Press host after nine years of helming the program. While NBC News promised the change would lead to expanded opportunities for Todd, TV Insider reports he has maintained a “far less visible presence” across NBC News and MSNBC since stepping down.

Tensions between Todd and the network recently erupted over NBC‘s controversial hiring of former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel. During a March 2024 Meet the Press appearance, Todd publicly challenged the decision, citing “credibility issues” and declaring, “There’s a reason why there are a lot of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with this, because many of our professional dealings with the RNC over the last six years have been met with gaslighting, have been met with character assassination.”

Todd further criticized the network’s decision to have Welker interview McDaniel as a paid contributor. On social media, he emphasized, “The issue isn’t about ideology, it’s about basic truth. Those trying to make this a left-right issue are being intentionally dishonest. This is about whether honest journalists are supposed to lend their credibility to someone who intentionally tried to ruin ours.” The backlash ultimately led NBC to reverse McDaniel’s hiring.

Mediaite founder Dan Abrams suggests Todd’s initial departure from Meet the Press wasn’t as voluntary as presented. On his SiriusXM show, Abrams accused NBC of “lying” about Todd’s exit, arguing he “was forced out of his role and replaced with Kristen Welker.” Abrams contends Todd lost his position because his willingness to challenge both conservatives and liberals left him without a “political community behind him.”

“And in the world we live in that is now a negative. That is now held against you,” Abrams said. “And so now Meet the Press has someone hosting the show who is less good — by any objective assessment — than Chuck Todd was.”

Todd’s tenure at NBC News included roles as political director, Chief White House Correspondent alongside Savannah Guthrie, and host of both Meet the Press and MTP Daily. When announcing his Meet the Press departure in June 2023, Todd cited a desire to spend more time with family after three decades in news, stating, “The key to the survival of any of these media entities, including here at Meet the Press, is for leaders to not overstay their welcome. I’d rather leave a little bit too soon than stay a tad too long.” Neither Todd nor NBC News has commented on the latest reports about his potential departure.