NBC's Chuck Todd reveals it's his 'final summer' at 'Meet the Press': 'Important time for me personally'

NBC's Chuck Todd announced on Sunday that it would be his "final summer" as the host of "Meet the Press" and that Kristen Welker, NBC's Chief White House Correspondent, would be taking his spot. 

"While today is not my final show, this is going to be my final summer here at ‘Meet the Press.' It’s been an amazing nearly decade-long run. I’m really proud of what this team and I have built over the last decade and frankly the last 15-plus years that I’ve been here at NBC, which also includes my time as political director. I’ve loved so much of this job, helping to explain America to Washington and explain Washington to America," Todd said at the end of Sunday's show.

Todd applauded the program's accomplishments over the years and added that the "key to survival" was for leaders "not to overstay their welcome."

"I’d rather leave a little bit too soon than stay a tad bit too long. I’ve had two amazing professional chapters, and I have plans for my next chapter, including some projects right here at NBC News that I’ve been very focused on, among them docuseries and some docudramas focused on trying to educate the public better, bridge our divides, pierce our political bubbles," he said. 

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"This is also an important time for me personally. I’ve let work consume me for nearly 30 years. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t wake up before 5:00 Or 6:00 a.m. And I’ve watched too many friends and family let work consume them before it was too late, I promised my family I wouldn’t do that," Todd said.

NBC News’ president of editorial, Rebecca Blumenstein, and NBC News’ senior vice president of politics, Carrie Budoff Brown, praised Todd in a memo to NBC staffers, according to NBC News. 

"‘Meet the Press’ has sustained its historic role as the indispensable news program on Sunday mornings," Blumenstein and Budoff Brown wrote. "Through his penetrating interviews with many of the most important newsmakers, the show has played an essential role in politics and policy, routinely made front-page news, and framed the thinking in Washington and beyond."

Todd was named as the host of the Sunday show in 2014 and has also served NBC News' political director.

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Welker praised Todd and said she was "grateful to take the baton" from him as the new host. 

"@chucktodd has been a mentor and friend since my first day at @NBCNews. I’ve learned so much from sitting with him at the anchor desk and simply experiencing his passion for politics. I'm humbled and grateful to take the baton and continue to build on the legacy of @MeetThePress," Wellker wrote on Twitter after Todd's announcement.

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NBC News reported that Todd will serve as a chief political analyst and will be focusing on "long form journalism." 

Welker moderated the final debate between President Biden and Donald Trump in 2020 and hosts "Weekend Today" on NBC News.