Luke Russert is ending a decade-long absence from television as MS NOW names him co-anchor of “The Weeknight,” a move that lands amid intensifying scrutiny of political media and shifting how Americans watch news.
When Donald Trump abruptly walked out of NBC’s “Meet the Press” after Kristen Welker challenged unsubstantiated election claims, it wasn’t just another tense exchange in Washington. It was a reminder of the stage Luke Russert is stepping back onto—18 years after his father, Tim Russert, died.
Russert. the only son of the longtime “Meet the Press” moderator who died of a heart attack in 2008. is now returning to television as co-host of MS NOW’s 7 p.m. news program “The Weeknight.” The position marks a decade-long hiatus from TV for him. and it arrives as audience habits shift toward streaming and cable networks scramble for ratings during President Donald Trump’s second term.
MS NOW has named the second-generation star the anchor of a “premier broadcast” it says will bridge the gap between his father’s era and the future of television.
Russert described the work of politics coverage in personal terms. “Sometimes you’re a young man and you’re very confident in your twenties and you might be too brash. too overconfident. ” he said. “You get older. Now I’m 40. You kind of have some years of experience behind you where you’re more comfortable sharing your opinions and you feel more grounded in your beliefs.”.
That sense of growing into the job comes as cable and streaming platforms compete harder than ever for attention. MS NOW is drawing marquee Millennial talent—Russert. and also CNN’s Abby Phillip and Kaitlan Collins—seeking a ratings lift in a political media landscape that moves faster and fractures more easily.
Russert comes to “The Weeknight” after leaving NBC News as a congressional correspondent in July 2016. four months before Trump was elected president. For years. he pursued travel and personal writing. including a decadelong quest “to find deeper meaning in faraway destinations.” He later authored a New York Times bestseller. “Look for Me There: Grieving My Father. Finding Myself. ” about his journeys—globally and in grief.
His return also lands on a calendar marked by legacy. Tim Russert died on June 13, 2008. Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton attended memorials, and Luke Russert delivered an eulogy at a June 18 service. At one point, he left the podium to pour a glass of water. He returned. raised it at eye level. and said: “When I hold this up. some of you see glass half empty. Some of you see glass half full. For Tim Russert, his glass was always half full.”.
He joined NBC News in August 2008, then moved into his congressional reporting role.
Not everyone applauded his path back to national visibility. Online critics complained about nepotism in his hiring, and Russert acknowledged the argument while pushing back on it. “I certainly acknowledge that the last name doesn’t hurt,” he said. “But, he explained, I actually have to produce.” He covered Congress at NBC for eight years, and backlash followed.
Conservative commentator Mark Levin posted on X in 2015 that “Luke Russert is a moron.” That same year. former NPR host Ken Rudin joked that it was disgraceful that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—married to President Bill Clinton— or ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush—“a son and grandson of presidents”—should get the presidency through inheritance. Rudin added: “More later on this subject from Luke Russert and Chris Cuomo.”.
In July 2016—four months before Trump was elected—Russert left his family’s longtime home at NBC. A statement read at the time said: “It’s fair to say my broadcast career began in an unusual way after college graduation and the death of my father. As a result, I threw myself into the work and never took the time to reflect.”.
Even after leaving NBC, criticism didn’t fade. Ann Coulter wrote on X in September 2018 that Russert would not have a job if his name were anything other than Russert. “Wait, he DOESN’T have a job? My mistake,” she added.
By the time Russert returned to TV in 2025, he had already become a recognizable figure in the public conversation around politics and media. His memoir, “Look for Me There,” debuted in May 2023. In December that year, he joined MSNBC as host and director of live events.
MS NOW is the new brand and new structure carrying him forward. The channel—formerly MSNBC. now known as “My Source for News. Opinion. and the World”—debuted independently from NBC News in November last year. It broke off from its former parent company, Comcast NBCUniversal, and moved under Versant, an independent publicly traded media company.
This spring, Russert received a call from MS NOW leadership steered by former CNN executive Rebecca Kutler. Russert recalled the moment: “They said, ‘We’re not promising anything, but would you be open to possibly doing this?’”
Syracuse University professor Anthony Adornato said Russert’s public profile makes him easy for audiences to recognize—and that it will be interesting to see how MS NOW builds on his on-air presence. Adornato also pointed to the way modern viewing habits have shifted since Tim Russert’s death in 2008.
In his view, news is now shaped by selection rather than discovery: a “filter bubble” where people choose what they want to see.
“The algorithms are feeding what they believe and kind of not informing them but just making them feel good because it confirms their beliefs,” Adornato said.
The weekly programming shift comes with a crew and a timeline. Russert replaces Alicia Menendez, the daughter of embattled former New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, on June 15. Menendez was promoted and will now anchor “On the Line” weekdays from 12 to 2 p.m. ET.
Russert’s new co-hosts include Symone Sanders Townsend, a Biden-Harris White House communications strategist, and Obama-era Republican Party chairman Michael Steele. The trio appears to be leaning into the personal overlap of their professional and family stories.
Sanders Townsend described their connection over loss, saying she and Russert bonded over losing their fathers. She said he shared a copy of “Look for Me There” with a personalized note.
“That’s just the kind of person that he is,” Sanders Townsend continued.
Steele, who once sparred with Tim Russert’s father, said it will be “nice to kind of bring it full circle in some respects.” Tim Russert moderated a 2006 Maryland Senate debate when Steele was the Republican opponent to former Sen. Ben Cardin.
Russert’s return is also wrapped in personal milestones. As Russert expects his first child with wife Laura Lomelí Russert. he will helm “The Weeknight” 18 years after losing his own father. He and his wife announced the timing for the baby: the child is due in late July. Russert said he does not yet know the gender, and Laura prefers to learn at birth.
“It’s new show and new baby, and I hope they both grow up healthy and well,” Russert said.
He has spent two full weeks as host of “The Weeknight.” His first child can look for him there—“at the anchor desk, on MS NOW.”
Before the announcement became reality, another high-profile moment showed how public political scrutiny can swallow the room. Trump’s June 7 walkout from “Meet the Press,” in Wisconsin, came during an interview with current moderator Kristen Welker. Welker later said in a statement that “Luke embodies so much of what people admired about Tim Russert.”.
The week after that walkout marked the 18th anniversary of Tim Russert’s passing. Russert spent Father’s Day weekend at the star-studded June 18 celebrations for the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. He posed in photos with Stevie Wonder and David Letterman.
The week’s events stitched together legacy, conflict, and a looming new chapter. For Luke Russert. the return to television isn’t just about ratings. cable strategy. or a new desk at 7 p.m. It’s about stepping back into “Meet the Press” territory while the political country continues to argue about what’s true—and who gets to say it out loud.
Luke Russert MS NOW The Weeknight Meet the Press Kristen Welker Donald Trump Symone Sanders Townsend Michael Steele Alicia Menendez cable news ratings media companies Versant