Anderson Cooper Leaving 60 Minutes After 20 Years — Read Statement

After 20 years, Anderson Cooper is exiting "60 Minutes," CBS' flagship news program.

"Being a correspondent at '60 Minutes' has been one of the highlights of my career. I got to tell amazing stories, and work with some of the best producers, editors and camera crews in the business," Cooper said in a statement (per Variety). "For nearly 20 years, I've been able to balance my jobs at CNN and CBS, but I have little kids now and I want to spend as much time with them as possible, while they want to spend time with me."

Cooper has been a fixture on "60 Minutes" since the 2006-07 season, serving as a correspondent concurrent with his duties at CNN. In addition to anchoring "Anderson Cooper 360°," he also hosts the cable network's own Sunday night newsmagazine, "The Whole Story With Anderson Cooper."

His final "60 Minutes" segment — in which filmmaker Ken Burns shared what he thinks would surprise the nation's founders 250 years after the Declaration of Independence — aired Sunday (see below).

Word of his exit comes after several years of upheaval at CBS News. In July, Paramount opted to settle President Donald Trump's lawsuit over a "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. The lawsuit, filed in October 2024 — just days before the presidential election — centered on CBS News' dissemination of two different clips of Democratic nominee Harris' thoughts on the conflict in the Middle East. A longer version aired on "Face the Nation," while a shorter excerpt was used the next day on "60 Minutes." CBS News had long maintained that each excerpt reflected the substance of Harris' answer, and in February 2025 full transcripts were released to support that stance. Nevertheless, Paramount agreed to settle for $16 million.

Shortly thereafter, the FCC approved Skydance Media's $8 billion bid to acquire Paramount.

Then on December 21, at the discretion of CBS News' newly appointed editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, a "60 Minutes" segment on the Trump administration's deportations of detainees to El Salvador was pulled hours ahead of air. The correspondent on the segment, Sharyn Alfonsi, subsequently sent a memo to colleagues alleging that Weiss' decision was "not an editorial decision," but rather "a political one."

Weiss in turn defended the move, suggesting that the segment was not ready and needed a Trump administration official to comment "on the record and on camera." It proceeded to air four weeks later without any significant changes to the report itself.

Breaker Media was first to report the news of Anderson's exit. TVLine has reached out to CBS News for comment.