Kristen Welker has made history as the first Black woman to be named host of NBC’s Meet the Press, the longest-running program in television history. She will officially replace Chuck Todd in September 2023.
Appearing on Today, Welker was congratulated for her new post during Monday's show.
"Chief White House Correspondent, Saturday anchor of Weekend Today and now we can announce: new moderator of Meet the Press," said Today's Savannah Guthrie who gave her a round of applause along with her co-host Hoda Kotb.
"My Today show family, you guys have been so supportive of me, always, and in this moment I'm so grateful," Kristen said. "This is truly the honor of my life.
"'Meet the Press is one of the most important political broadcasts in history," she continued. "I just feel so grateful and humbled to all of those who built this amazing legacy. I'm thinking about Martha Rountree, Tim Russert, and of course, my mentor Chuck Todd, who taught me just about everything I know about politics."
Todd, who hosted the news program for nine years, spoke glowingly about Welker noting that she's been "ready for this for a long time."
"I've had the privilege of working with her from essentially her first day, and let me just say she’s the right person in the right moment," he said.
A veteran of news journalism, Welker graduated from magna cum laude from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Arts in American history. After working as a local news reporter in Providence, Rhode Island, Redding/Chico, California and Philadelphia, the city of her birth, she joined NBC News in 2010 as a correspondent. In 2011, she became a White House correspondent for NBC.
Welker also was a fill-in host on NBC Nightly News and Today and in 2020, alongside Peter Alexander, she became the regular co-anchor of Weekend Today on NBC.
In her distinguished career as a reporter, Welker has covered three presidential elections and garnered acclaim for moderating the final debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
