CNN presenter Rahel Solomon caught both viewers and colleagues off guard on the morning of Monday, March 23, 2026, when she announced during the broadcast that she will be leaving the network, an unexpected departure for one of the outlet’s rising on-air talents.
“I have decided that this will be my last week at CNN,” Solomon, 37, told viewers at the end of her broadcast, adding that next Friday, March 27, would be her final show. “More to come on what’s next for me, but I’m really excited about this next chapter.”
Solomon hosts “Early Start” from 5 to 6 a.m. and also appears on CNN Newsroom for CNN International and CNN Max. The network has confirmed her exit, with a CNN representative telling The Daily Beast, “We are grateful to Rahel for all her contributions to CNN over the past four years and are supportive of her decision.”
The move comes a little over a year after Solomon assumed the “Early Start” role when CNN announced a major reshuffle of its lineup in January 2025. Her show, which launched as “5 Things with Rahel Solomon,” debuted on March 10, 2025; the network later restored the “Early Start” name as part of a broader morning schedule rework that also placed Audie Cornish on “CNN This Morning” from 6 to 7 a.m.
She had just returned from a six-month maternity leave in December 2025 after she and her husband, Philadelphia attorney Marcel S. Pratt, welcomed a daughter. Her decision to depart comes roughly three months after resuming her on-air duties.
Her announcement arrives amid turmoil at CNN. Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery agreed in February 2026 to be acquired by Paramount Skydance in a roughly $111 billion deal, ending a competitive bidding process that included Netflix withdrawing its $83 billion offer. The acquisition, led by David Ellison — who has said CNN will operate independently and claimed he wants to be “in the truth business” — has amplified staff anxieties about the network’s future, particularly after Paramount’s editorial moves at CBS News following Bari Weiss’s appointment as editor-in-chief.
Solomon’s profile at CNN grew quickly after she joined full-time in April 2022 as a CNN International correspondent focused on global business. She covered major developments including the 2023 U.S. banking crisis, the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, and UBS’s emergency acquisition of Credit Suisse. Before CNN, she worked as a general assignment reporter at CNBC on programs like “Halftime Report” and “Power Lunch,” and served as a morning anchor at KYW-TV (CBS-3) in Philadelphia from 2017 to 2019.
Her path into journalism was unconventional. Solomon earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from St. John’s University in Queens, N.Y., in 2010 and later completed a master’s at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She originally intended to pursue banking before switching to broadcasting.
Born in Sudan to Ethiopian parents, the Philadelphia native moved to the U.S. at age three and first lived in West Philadelphia. Raised in Delaware County, she attended Archbishop Prendergast High School. Although she has lived in places including West Virginia, Colorado, France, Spain, and Italy during study abroad, she has maintained strong ties to her hometown and became well-known while at CBS3 Philadelphia.
While at CBS3, Solomon went viral in 2017 after she and co-anchor Jim Donovan attempted the “hot chip challenge” on air — a clip that continues to circulate online and showcases her willingness to display personality on camera.
Her exit adds to the instability at CNN, which has experienced declining viewership under Warner Bros. Discovery. The network’s primetime audience fell following the 2024 presidential election, though ratings improved year over year in early 2026 compared with the weak figures of 2025. In February 2026, CNN ranked fifth in total primetime viewers.
In January 2025, CEO Mark Thompson announced plans to eliminate about six percent of staff — roughly 200 roles — while redirecting investment toward digital initiatives, including a paid streaming service. Warner Bros. Discovery committed $70 million to support the shift to digital. The reorganization also included programming changes: Jake Tapper moved to a two-hour 5–7 p.m. slot, Kasie Hunt began hosting a 4 p.m. show called “The Arena with Kasie Hunt,” Wolf Blitzer was paired with Pamela Brown at 10 a.m., and some production functions were relocated from New York to Atlanta and Washington to reduce costs.
Solomon’s personal life has flourished as well. She married Pratt on July 13, 2024, in a two-day celebration at the Philadelphia Museum of Art that honored her Ethiopian heritage and her husband’s Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. affiliations. The couple chose the landmark for its sentimental value — it was where they had their second date. Pratt, a West Philadelphia native, previously served as the city’s solicitor and is now a managing partner at Ballard Spahr.
CNN has not yet announced a replacement for Solomon on “Early Start.” The simulcast on CNN International has focused on coverage of the war in Iran, with Abu Dhabi-based anchor Becky Anderson often joining the broadcast.
