Suzanne Malveaux is leaving CNN after 20 years

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After 20 years at CNN, national correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is leaving the network on Friday. The announcement of her departure was made by CNN chief Chris Licht during a daily newsroom staff meeting Friday morning.

Malveaux, who is the longtime partner of White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, first joined the network in 2003 after previously working as a correspondent for NBC News.

In a memo to her CNN colleagues obtained by the Washington Post, Malveaux said she approached network management in the fall to explore “new opportunities.” In particular, Malveaux said, she will work with Nelson Mandela’s family on a project that highlights stories of reconciliation and peace.

“After 20 years of delivering groundbreaking stories to CNN’s audience, I have made the honest decision to put myself and my family first and pursue my long-held professional passions: using storytelling to promote wellness, resilience and social justice.” wrote Malveaux. “I will forever be grateful for the opportunities CNN has given me.”

In a statement provided to The Post, a CNN spokesperson promoted Malveaux’s work, including interviews with five US presidents. “We are excited for her and her next chapter and wish her all the best,” the spokesperson said.

Malveaux’s departure is unrelated to a recent round of cost-cutting at the network in which hundreds of employees were laid off, a CNN spokesman told The Post.

Malveaux said she thought deeply about her future during a recent bout with Covid-19, her second. “There’s nothing like being quarantined in your basement to help one gain momentum from thinking about actually exploring what lies ahead,” she wrote.

In addition to a 10-year run covering the White House for CNN, anchoring shows and subsequent assignments in Ukraine and around the world, Malveaux reported on her late mother’s battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a job she said Friday was her proudest achievement. She is working on a book about her parents and said she will “have more to share soon in my next chapter.”

Malveaux shares an 8-year-old daughter with Jean-Pierre, who became the first openly gay person to serve as White House press secretary when she took the role in May. At the time, facing questions about a potential conflict of interest, a CNN spokesperson clarified that Malveaux would not be covering the White House, politics or Capitol Hill in her role as a national correspondent.