Jake Tapper leaving CNN prime-time post

NEW YORK — CNN host Jake Tapper is moving out of the 9 p.m. Eastern time spot he briefly occupied in the cable news channel’s prime-time lineup.

He is slated to exit that post after the midterm elections, which take place Nov. 8. Tapper will continue doing his afternoon program “The Lead,” which he started in 2013.

“As part of a special lineup, Jake agreed to anchor the 9 (p.m.) hour through the midterm elections,” a network spokesman said in a statement to the New York Daily News. “At the completion of that schedule, he’ll be returning to his award-winning program ‘The Lead.’ We will announce post-election plans for that time slot in the coming days.”

Tapper had been competing in that time slot with MSNBC’s Alex Wagner and Fox News’ Sean Hannity, both of whom drew more solid ratings.

The 9 p.m. slot at CNN had for more than three years been held by Chris Cuomo, who was dropped from the network in December 2021 after an investigation into his efforts to aid his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as he reeled from sexual misconduct allegation.

Chris Cuomo now has an 8 p.m. show on NewsNation.

Tapper joined CNN at the start of 2013, according to his online bio. In 2022, he won an Emmy Award for his story about an Afghan child sold into marriage. Tapper is also an author and cartoonist of note.

———