The Fox News audience may be missing former money honey Maria Bartiromo, but the network has tapped a high-profile interim replacement whose presence is likely to reassure Trump supporters and free-market conservatives alike.
According to RedState, former Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow has stepped in to helm the influential Sunday morning program, taking over Sunday Morning Futures through the heart of the 2024 election season. Fox announced Friday that Kudlow would host the show from Sept. 27 through Nov. 8, the Sunday immediately following the midterm elections, with executives pledging to name a permanent host at a later date.
Kudlow made his debut this Sunday with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent among his first guests, immediately drawing on his years of economic and White House experience to frame the discussion. His presence signals that Fox is not retreating from serious economic coverage or from giving a platform to voices aligned with the Trump-era agenda of deregulation, tax cuts, and a strong America-first trade posture.
The move comes less than a month after Bartiromos abrupt and widely discussed exit from Fox News Media, which ended more than 12 years with the company. As RedStates Nick Arama reported at the time, Fox announced on Sept. 3 that Bartiromo was "no longer with Fox News Media."
"We thank Maria for her work over the last 12 years and wish her all the best on her next chapter," the network said, offering a notably brief farewell for one of its most recognizable business journalists. The terse announcement immediately raised questions about what had happened to a host who had become a staple for viewers seeking tough interviews with Republican leaders and in-depth coverage of markets and policy.
Fox subsequently described the split as a "business decision," a characterization that did little to quiet speculation on the right about internal pressures and political motives. Bartiromos attorney, Bryan Freedman, has pushed back on reports that she was fired and issued a statement suggesting there could be much more to the story.
"Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise," Freedman said earlier this month, hinting at a potential legal and public-relations battle ahead. Bartiromo herself has also indicated that she is not disappearing from public view, and in a Sept. 10 message to supporters, she promised to "be back soon" with her "next moves."
Her departure left several gaps in Foxs lineup and raised concerns among viewers who saw her as one of the few major-network anchors willing to challenge establishment narratives, particularly on the 2020 election and government overreach. "Mornings With Maria" became "Mornings With Fox Business," now relying on rotating anchors, while "Maria Bartiromo's Wall Street" was rebranded as "FBN's Wall Street," and former Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz initially stepped in on "Sunday Morning Futures."
Now Kudlow has the Sunday chair for the next several weeks, including the critical final stretch before the Nov. 3 midterms, when economic anxiety and foreign-policy crises are front and center for voters. He is an obvious choice for the assignment, both ideologically and professionally, for a network whose core audience expects unapologetically pro-growth, pro-capitalism analysis.
Kudlow served as director of the National Economic Council and assistant to the president for economic policy during Trumps first administration from 2018 until 2021, placing him at the center of tax reform, deregulation, and trade negotiations. He joined Fox Business in 2021 and currently hosts "Kudlow" at 4 PM ET on weekdays, where he has consistently championed limited government, strong markets, and a robust American energy sector.
Fox says his program has consistently ranked as the most-watched show in business television, underscoring his appeal to viewers who want both market insight and a clear conservative framework. He's also interviewed Trump, Bessent, Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson and other major political and business figures during his time at the network, reinforcing his status as a go-to interlocutor for the rights political and economic leadership.
Sunday Morning Futures reportedly lost roughly 400,000 viewers between Aug. 9 and the week of Sept. 7, following Maria Bartiromos departure from Fox News. Critics of the network have claimed Bartiromo was fired after refusing to drop reporting related to the 2020 election, though Fox has publicly described her exit only as a business decision."
Kudlow's rsum stretches back long before the Trump administration, giving him a depth of experience that few television hosts can match. He spent years at CNBC, including hosting "The Kudlow Report," and served in the Reagan administration as associate director for economics and planning at the Office of Management and Budget from 1981 to 1985, a formative period for modern conservative economic policy.
He also worked as chief economist and senior managing director at Bear Stearns, further grounding his commentary in real-world market experience rather than academic theory. That background gives Fox a host who can move easily between politics and economics, which was also a major part of Bartiromo's appeal to viewers who value both policy substance and market literacy.
There is another obvious reason Trump supporters may welcome the choice, beyond Kudlows rsum and ideological alignment. Bartiromo developed "Sunday Morning Futures" into a major venue for interviews with Trump and members of his administration, and Trump wasn't happy when Fox parted ways with her, publicly saying he "couldn't believe" she would no longer have her programs.
Kudlow, meanwhile, isn't merely someone who has interviewed Trump; he is a former senior adviser who helped craft the presidents economic agenda from inside the West Wing. He spent three years helping shape the president's economic agenda from inside the White House, giving him a unique vantage point on the policy debates that still define the Republican Party.
His first show gave viewers a preview of what they can expect in the weeks ahead. Kudlow's interview with Bessent ranged across China, trade and the administration's pressure campaign against Iran, with the Treasury secretary arguing that Tehran was rapidly running out of oil it could sell.
Fox still has a decision to make about who gets Bartiromo's chair permanently, a choice that will signal whether the network intends to lean into or retreat from its Trump-era, populist-conservative base. Kudlow's assignment officially ends Nov. 8, and the network has made clear that another announcement will follow, leaving open the possibility that viewer reaction and ratings will heavily influence the final call.
But for viewers who appreciated Bartiromo's willingness to bring Trump and his top officials onto the program and to dig deeply into economic and political issues from a right-of-center perspective, Fox could have gone in a very different direction. For the next several weeks, it's going with Larry Kudlow, a Reagan-Trump conservative whose presence suggests the network still understands where much of its audience stands.
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