Maria Bartiromo out at Fox Business
Reports differ on how she was released
Fox Business’ move to dump longtime host Maria Bartiromo means viewers who were spending Mornings With Maria will now .&on Thursday after twelve-and-a-half years at the helm of her morning show.
“We thank Maria for her work over the last 12 ½ years and wish her all the best on her next chapter,” Fox said in a terse statement. Bartiromo anchored the morning business show, Friday show Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street, and Sunday Morning Futures. Effective immediately, two of those shows were renamed as Morning with Fox Business and FBN’s Wall Street.
Speculation immediately centered on Bartiromo landing a new position at NewsMax, NewsNation, or perhaps becine President Trump’s press secretary, given her close ties.
But on Thursday evening, two media newsletters – Puck and Status – reported Bartiromo was fired from the channel because she leaked an internal memo to the White House regarding Fox’s decision issuing gudiance on how to cover Trump’s false claims about the 2020 Presidential Election in a primetime speech two months ago. Fox had to pay $787 million to settle a lawsuit against Dominion Voting Machines for falsely reporting that their machines were switching votes from Trump to Biden.
According to Status, the White House was wondering why Fox wasn’t devoting as much time covering the President’s speech. Bartiromo shared an internal text on the matter and sent it to the White House – a violation of the company’s guidelines. Bartiromo’s last appearence on Fox Business was August 9 on her Sunday Futures show.
On Friday, a lawyer for Bartiromo released a statement regarding the employer’s status with Fox News: “The irresponsible reports that have been published stating that Maria Bartiromo was fired or is no longer an employee of Fox are absolutely and unequivocally false. Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise. Those reporting her firing or the incredulous facts supporting that fiction have exhibited a complete and utter reckless disregard for the truth.”
Fox said Friday its terse statement “speaks for itself”. Bartiromo declined to comment.
Once a media darling known for her expertise on the stock market, Bartiromo began her career at CNBC and was the first person to report directly from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Bartiromo was also on the floor on the morning of the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001, which destroyed the nearby World Trade Center.
In 2014, Fox News chief Roger Alies – who hired Bartiromo at CNBC when he was there, lured her away, giving her a new morning show on the then-upstart Fox Business, as it was looking to take on CNBC. Bartiromo also became more opinionated, supporting the policies of the Trump Administration and interviewing members of his cabinet – not to mention being cited in the Dominion lawsuit, where she was spreading falsehoods about the 2020 election to keep Fox Business’ audiences from bailing.
The alleged faux pas may have given Fox an opportunity to drop her. Even though Fox Business still leads CNBC in total-day ratings, recent ratings reports reveal that Mornings With Maria was in decline, falling behind CNBC’s Squawk Box in total viewers and even further in the key 25-54 demo. Moreover, Mornings With Maria also showed erosion in ad revenue, with just $3.7 million earned in 2025, down significantly from $8.9 million in 2022, according to iSpot.
While speculation centered on where Bartiromo was land next, she is still under contract with Fox until 2029, meaning it’s likely Fox Corporation will buy out her contract, though with three years left, it would be a hefty sum.