CNN anchor Rahel Solomon surprised viewers and coworkers on the morning of Monday, March 23, 2026, when she revealed on air that she is leaving the network, marking an unexpected exit for one of the cable outlet’s emerging 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 anchors “Early Start” in the 5 to 6 a.m. slot and also appears on CNN Newsroom for CNN International and CNN Max. The network confirmed she is departing, with a CNN spokesperson 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 exit occurs a little more than a year after Solomon took over “Early Start” when CNN announced major lineup changes in January 2025. The program, originally launched as “5 Things with Rahel Solomon,” premiered on March 10, 2025. The network reinstated the “Early Start” name as part of a wider morning schedule revamp that also placed Audie Cornish on “CNN This Morning” from 6 to 7 a.m.
Solomon had only returned from a six-month maternity leave in December 2025 after she and her husband, Philadelphia lawyer Marcel S. Pratt, welcomed a baby girl. Her decision to leave comes roughly three months after resuming her anchor duties.
Her announcement arrives amid upheaval at CNN. Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery agreed in February 2026 to be acquired by Paramount Skydance for about $111 billion, concluding a competitive bidding process that included Netflix withdrawing from its $83 billion offer. The deal, led by David Ellison — who has said CNN will operate independently and claimed he wants to be “in the truth business” — has heightened staff concerns about the network’s future, especially after Paramount’s editorial changes at CBS News following Bari Weiss’s hire as editor-in-chief.
Solomon’s rise at CNN accelerated after she joined full-time in April 2022 as a CNN International correspondent covering global business. She reported on major events such as the 2023 U.S. banking crisis, the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, and UBS’s emergency takeover of Credit Suisse. Earlier, she worked as a general assignment reporter at CNBC on shows like “Halftime Report” and “Power Lunch” and was a morning anchor at KYW-TV (CBS-3) in Philadelphia from 2017 to 2019.
Her route into journalism was not linear. Solomon graduated from St. John’s University in Queens, N.Y., in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in finance and later earned a master’s from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She had originally planned a career in banking before switching to broadcasting.
The Philadelphia native, born in Sudan to Ethiopian parents, moved to the U.S. at age three and initially lived in West Philadelphia. Raised in Delaware County, she attended Archbishop Prendergast High School. Though she has lived in places including West Virginia, Colorado, France, Spain, and Italy during study abroad, she kept close ties to her hometown and became a familiar face while at CBS3 Philadelphia.
While in Philadelphia, Solomon had a viral moment in 2017 when she and co-anchor Jim Donovan tried the “hot chip challenge” on air — a clip that continues to be shared online and highlights her willingness to show personality on camera.
Her departure adds to the instability at CNN, which has faced falling viewership under Warner Bros. Discovery. The network’s primetime audience plunged after the 2024 presidential election, though ratings have improved year over year in early 2026 compared with the weak numbers of 2025. CNN ranked fifth in total primetime viewers in February 2026.
In January 2025, CNN CEO Mark Thompson outlined plans to cut about six percent of staff — roughly 200 positions — while shifting investment to digital projects, including a new paid streaming product. Warner Bros. Discovery provided $70 million to support the digital transition. The shakeup also involved programming moves: Jake Tapper was moved to a two-hour 5–7 p.m. slot, Kasie Hunt shifted to a 4 p.m. program called “The Arena with Kasie Hunt,” Wolf Blitzer was paired with Pamela Brown at 10 a.m., and some production roles were relocated from New York to Atlanta and Washington to lower expenses.
Solomon’s private life has also prospered. She married Pratt on July 13, 2024, during a two-day event at the Philadelphia Museum of Art that celebrated her Ethiopian roots and her husband’s ties to Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. The couple selected the landmark site for its sentimental value — it was their second-date location. Pratt, a West Philadelphia native, formerly served as the city’s solicitor and is now a managing partner at Ballard Spahr.
CNN has not yet named a successor for Solomon on “Early Start.” The simulcasted program on CNN International has been covering the war in Iran, with Abu Dhabi-based anchor Becky Anderson frequently joining the broadcast.
