CNN top star Jim Acosta suddenly quit the network on Tuesday after rejecting a dramatic demotion to midnight programming, ending his role as one of President Donald Trump’s most visible media antagonists just days after the president’s return to office.
The chief domestic correspondent’s departure comes after CNN yanked him from his prime 10 a.m. slot and offered him the graveyard shift instead, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.
“Many viewers like Jim… if there is anyone who could make the overnight go, it’s him. It’s sad to see him go,” a CNN insider told Fox News Digital about the anchor’s impending exit.
The network’s attempt to exile Acosta to midnight programming sparked infighting at the network, and ultimately led to Acosta quitting on Tuesday.
“He struggled with the choice,” another CNN insider revealed. Acosta cut his contract short rather than accept the demotion.
Veteran anchors Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown will take over Acosta’s former timeslot with an expanded “Situation Room,” part of CNN’s dramatic programming overhaul under CEO Mark Thompson.
The shake-up appears designed to reposition CNN for Trump’s second term and comes after a ratings crash at the network.
During Trump’s first presidency, Acosta gained national prominence through confrontational exchanges that nearly cost him his White House press credentials in 2018 when he refused to surrender his microphone and took over a press conference.
CNN successfully sued to restore Acosta’s access after the Trump administration attempted to revoke his press pass, arguing First and Fifth Amendment violations.
Just last week, in what now appears to be a parting shot, Acosta declared on air that the press is “not the enemy of the people,” directly challenging Trump’s frequent attacks on liberal journalists.
CNN declined to comment on the departure, which comes as network leadership reportedly seeks more balanced and fair political coverage after Trump’s inauguration.
“The changes we’re announcing today are part of an ongoing response by this great news organization to profound and irreversible shifts in the way audiences in America and around the world consume news,” Thompson said of the network’s broader restructuring.
Acosta officially announced his resignation at the end of Tuesday’s broadcast, capping a 17-year career at CNN that transformed him from a standard political correspondent into one of Trump’s most prominent media adversaries.
Trump took one last parting shot at his media rival on TruthSocial —
Trump reacts to Jim Acosta leaving CNN
LMAO pic.twitter.com/GunputOZ1q
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 28, 2025
🚨BREAKING: Trump Derangement Syndrome victim and propagandist Jim Acosta announces he is leaving CNN.
He goes out with one last ridiculous comment:
"It is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant… don't give in to the lies."
pic.twitter.com/Q5BXIoWmVy— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 28, 2025