MSNBC Shakeup: Stephanie Ruhle Replaces Brian Williams as Morning Joe Expands to Four Hours

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Stephanie Ruhle is replacing Brian Williams in MSNBC’s 11 p.m. hour, the network announced on Thursday. Ruhle’s vacated 9 a.m. hour will be filled by Morning Joe, which is expanding to four hours.

“Stephanie Ruhle, who had been anchoring the 9 a.m. slot, will take over as host of The 11th Hour, bringing her business acumen, hard-hitting interview style and original reporting to the viewers in that slot,” MSNBC president Rashida Jones said in an internal memo obtained by Mediaite. “Stephanie has been a staple of our dayside anchor team and a trusted voice on topics at the intersection of politics, finance and international business. In addition to bringing her decades-long experience to The 11th Hour, Stephanie will continue to appear across all platforms as NBC News Senior Business Analyst.”

Axios was first to report that MSNBC was set to announce that Ruhle was taking over for Williams, who left the network back in December. Sources told Axios that Ruhle’s 9 a.m. hour of MSNBC Live would be filled by a a fourth hour of the morning show hosted by Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.

Williams’ departure came after a 28-year history with NBC. He was known for hosting NBC’s Nightly News until 2015, when he was suspended by the network for telling Iraq War stories that turned out to be false. He was given another chance with The 11th Hour on MSNBC, which he helmed until he left with the expiration of his contract.

Ruhle’s history with MSNBC began in 2016 when she joined them after working as an anchor and managing editor for Bloomberg Television. Aside from hosting her MSNBC Live hour, Ruhle has also functioned as a senior business correspondent for NBC News.

This story has been updated to include an internal memo on the changes that was obtained by Mediaite.