Fox News has named Larry Kudlow temporary host of “Sunday Morning Futures” after Maria Bartiromo’s departure, putting the former Trump economic adviser in the chair through the midterms.
Larry Kudlow starts Sept. 27 and stays through Nov. 8, the weekend after the Nov. 3 midterm elections, Fox News said in a Sept. 25 announcement. A permanent host will be named later.
USA TODAY reported that Kudlow will open the interim run with an interview of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent airing that first Sunday.
The move fills the seat Bartiromo left weeks earlier. Fox News Media said Sept. 3 it had parted ways with her after more than 12 years. The network called the exit a business matter and offered no further public explanation.
Kudlow already anchors the market-close program “Kudlow” on Fox Business Network, which he joined in 2021. Fox framed him as a natural fit for a Sunday show built around politics, policy, and the economy.
The network said he has interviewed key politicians, business leaders, and administration officials, including President Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Elon Musk, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, among others.
Fox also noted that Kudlow has given economic and political commentary across Fox News Media platforms. That record matters for a program that airs when voters are already focused on growth, prices, and power in Washington.
Before television, Kudlow served as director of the National Economic Council and assistant to the president for economic policy during Trump’s first term, from 2018 to 2021. Earlier, he worked as associate director for economics and planning at the Office of Management and Budget in the Reagan administration from 1981 to 1985.
He also spent years as a CNBC senior contributor and host, including “The Kudlow Report” and appearances on “Squawk Box,” and earlier served as chief economist and senior managing director at Bear Stearns long before the firm’s 2008 collapse.
In short, Fox is not handing a flagship Sunday slot to a novice. It is parking a known markets voice and former White House economic aide in the chair through election season.
Bartiromo joined Fox in 2014 after two decades at CNBC. At Fox she hosted “Sunday Morning Futures,” “Mornings with Maria,” and “Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street.” The Sept. 3 parting closed more than 12 years with the company.
Fox thanked her for her work and stuck to the “business matter” line. It did not detail performance issues, contract terms, or any other cause.
Her attorney, Bryan Freedman, pushed back hard the next day. In a Sept. 4 statement shared with USA TODAY, he rejected reports that she had been fired.
Freedman said:
“Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise,”
That language points to a dispute the network has not addressed in public. No court filing is described in the available reporting, and Fox has not answered the attorney’s claim with a fuller account of the split.
On Sept. 10, Bartiromo posted on Instagram to thank supporters. She wrote, “I love you all and I promise to be back soon [with] my next moves.”
She did not spell out those next moves. The network, for its part, moved on to an interim plan timed to the political calendar rather than a quick permanent hire.
Kudlow’s temporary run is not open-ended. Fox set a clear end date: Nov. 8, right after voters cast ballots on Nov. 3. The first guest is Bessent, the Treasury secretary, on the Sept. 27 debut.
That schedule keeps a senior economic interviewer in place while markets, fiscal policy, and midterm stakes dominate the news. It also buys Fox time to choose a lasting successor without leaving the Sunday franchise dark.
Viewers who relied on Bartiromo’s mix of politics and markets now get Kudlow’s version for roughly six weeks. The network has not said who is on the permanent shortlist, or when that decision lands.
What remains unsettled is the Bartiromo chapter itself. Fox calls it business. Her lawyer talks about evidence and possible court action. She says she will return with new plans. None of those threads has been tied off in public.
Sunday Morning Futures still needs a steady hand through the midterms. Fox handed that job to a host who has worked the White House economic brief, the trading floor, and prime business TV. The permanent choice comes later. The unanswered questions around Bartiromo’s exit remain now.
When a top cable franchise changes hosts without a straight story, audiences notice, and they should keep noticing until the network, or the courts, put the full record on the table.
