Neil Cavuto, a business journalist at Fox News Channel whose weekday afternoon news show frequently annoyed President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters, left the network after 28 years following a final show on Thursday.
A workhorse who had been with Fox since its inception in 1996, Cavuto also hosted programs at Fox's sister, the Fox Business Network, and was not considered one of the stable of opinion hosts.
His final show briskly moved through a succession of news stories, including the potential for a government funding deal, stock market fluctuations and a strike by Amazon workers. He addressed his exit at the end, thanking Fox for his years on the network but saying that “I'm not leaving journalism. I'm just leaving here.”
“I got to do what I love here — report the news, not shout the news, not blast the news,” he said, adding that his goal was to “tell truth to power and fairness to all. That's me.”
He thanked viewers, while noting the ones who wrote to suggest he do things “that I think were anatomically impossible to do.”
Fox said in a statement: “Neil Cavuto's illustrious career has been a master class in journalism and we're extremely proud of his incredible 28-year run with Fox News Media. His programs have defined business news and set the standard for the entire industry. We wish him a heartfelt farewell and all the best on his next chapter.”
Unlike many at Fox, he has not interviewed President-elect Donald Trump since 2017 and sometimes has angered him. One time came when Cavuto said on his show in September that Trump had “decisively lost” his debate with Democrat Kamala Harris.
Cavuto remarked this summer that when the stock market goes up, Trump says it is because of investors looking forward to him being back in power, but when it's down, he blames the Democrats.
On social media Thursday, Trump used all-caps to say Cavuto's departure is “GOOD NEWS FOR AMERICA.” He said it “should have happened a long time ago.”
While Cavuto's exit removes a Trump irritant from Fox just before the president-elect returns to office, that fact had nothing to do with it, said a person at the network with knowledge of the discussions but spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about contracts. Cavuto's contract was coming to an end and while he was offered an extension, he decided to leave, the person said. Cavuto confirmed the offer, while not explaining his reasons for exiting.
With the television news business hurting financially, some major personalities have reportedly been asked to take pay cuts. Some, like the “Today” show's Hoda Kotb, decided to leave instead.
Even before Cavuto addressed his exit, each of the guests on his final show saluted him. Reporter Aishah Hasnie called him a hero, and billionaire investor Ken Fisher said, “if you need any help, you will always have a friend in me.”
“You call balls and strikes,” said Bob Cusack, editor in chief of The Hill. “You're not a yes man.”
Cavuto, 66, has stayed on the job despite a number of health issues through the years. He has multiple sclerosis, underwent heart surgery and had bouts of long COVID. One fellow Fox personality, Janice Dean, said on social media that when she was diagnosed with MS, Cavuto “gave me hope that I could still pursue my dreams.”
There's no immediate word on who will replace Cavuto at 4 p.m. Eastern on Fox's schedule, a coveted slot before the network's most popular show, “The Five.”
David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.
FILE - Anchor Neil Cavuto appears on the set of his "Cavuto: Coast to Coast" program, on the Fox Business Network, in New York on March 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
In the first major flex of his influence since Donald Trump was elected, Elon Musk brought to a sudden halt a bipartisan budget proposal by posting constantly on his X megaphone and threatening Republicans with primary challenges.
The social media warnings from the world's wealthiest man preceded Trump's condemnation of a measure negotiated by GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson, which effectively killed the stopgap measure that was designed to prevent a partial shutdown of the federal government.
Washington was scrambled a day after Musk's public pressure campaign. Trump on Thursday first declined to say whether he had confidence in Johnson. But later in the day, Trump praised him and House leaders for producing “a very good Deal,” after they announced a new plan to fund the government and lift the debt ceiling.
Before the new deal was reached, Congressional Democrats mocked their GOP counterparts, with several suggesting Trump had been relegated to vice president.
“Welcome to the Elon Musk presidency,” Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California wrote on X.
What was clear, though, is Musk’s ascendance as a political force, a level of influence enabled by his great wealth. In addition to owning X, Musk is the CEO of Tesla and Space X.
“There is no doubt he does wield a lot of influence over Republicans right now due to his proximity to Trump,” said Chris Pack, former communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Senate Leadership Fund.
But Pack also said that Musk's threats pose potential risks for House Republicans, who begin next year with a five-seat majority that will shrink temporarily because of Trump’s nomination of some GOP lawmakers to administration posts.
“This isn’t going to help pass the agenda if you are going to cost a bunch of Republicans in very razor-thin moderate seats if you’re going to make them lose in primaries,” Pack said. “All that does is give the keys to these districts over to the Democrats.”
Musk spent an estimated $250 million during the presidential campaign to support Trump, contributing heavily to America PAC, a super political action committee that deployed canvassers, aired TV ads and reached voters digitally in battleground states. He had signaled after the election he was willing to back GOP primary challenges to Republican members of Congress seeking re-election in 2026 who waver on Trump's appointments and agenda.
He renewed the threat pointedly Wednesday.
“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” he wrote on X. He also called it “one of the worst bills ever written.”
Musk wasn't alone in fanning GOP anger against the bill, which included several compromise measures to get Democratic support in the Senate in the final weeks before Republicans take control of that chamber. Biotech entrepreneur and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who is Musk’s partner leading the new Department of Government Efficiency, also posted against the bill, as did Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
Musk played down his role at times, suggesting after some praise online, “All I can do is bring things to the attention of the people, so they may voice their support if they so choose.” And the president-elect told NBC News that he had spoken to Musk prior to the Tesla CEO's first posts.
“I told him that if he agrees with me, that he could put out a statement,” Trump said.
Karoline Leavitt, the incoming White House press secretary, pushed back against Democratic critics who suggested Musk was calling the shots.
“As soon as President Trump released his official stance on the CR, Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his point of view," Leavitt said in a statement, referring to the continuing resolution. "President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop.”
Throughout the day Wednesday, Musk replied to posts on X from Republican House members announcing opposition to the bill with words of thanks, and punctuating their public commitments.
And he took a victory lap after Trump came out against the bill: “The voice of the people was heard. This was a good day for America."
He was responding to Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr's post: “The phone was ringing off the hook today. And you know why? Because they were reading tweets...from Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.”
By late afternoon Thursday and before the new plan was put to a vote, Musk declared success and posted a picture of the new, slimmed down alternative alongside the voluminous, original measure he helped kill. “This shows how much your voice matters,” he posted. “And having a President like @realDonaldTrump means that your voice is finally heard.”
Conservative activists at the annual AmericaFest gathering in Phoenix cheered Musk Thursday and hailed the suggestion he could replace Johnson as speaker. There’s no requirement that the speaker be an elected member of the House of Representatives.
“Should Mike Johnson remain speaker of the House?” conservative media host Jack Posobiec asked his audience during a live taping of his talk show, prompting a chorus of “Noooooo!!!” from his audience.
Johnson had been scheduled to attend AmericaFest, but canceled after the budget deal fell apart.
“Should Elon Musk be speaker of the House?” Posobiec asked his audience, prompting cheers.
Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press Bill Barrow contributed to this report from Phoenix.
FILE - Elon Musk speaks after President-elect Donald Trump spoke during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE - President-elect Donald Trump poses for a photo with Dana White, Kid Rock and Elon Musk at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden, Nov. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
