New MSNBC Boss Eyes Larger Role for Jen Psaki, No Backtrack on Progressive Focus Amid Trump’s Second Term

New MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler is eying an expanded role for network breakout Jen Psaki and for “The Weekend” hosts Symone Sanders-Townsend, Alicia Menendez and Michael Steele, TheWrap has learned. Though these plans are still under discussion and have not been finalized, they signal that the network will remain committed to a focus on progressive politics under Donald Trump’s second term, and once it is spun-off into a standalone company.

Kutler replaced Rashida Jones as the network’s chief last month. She joined the network in 2022 after being hand-selected by Jones and was part of the team that oversaw the development of “Inside with Jen Psaki” and “The Weekend” — the latter of which has seen an ratings increase of 35% since it launched in January 2024.

Kutler is also on a hiring spree and is looking for a head of talent, head of newsgathering, a Washington bureau chief, and a head of content strategy. Her plans include establishing a MSNBC Washington Bureau and installing a cohort of domestic and international correspondents.

The network head has her eye on reporters from the Washington Post and Politico, as well as print outlets and other networks.

In the four weeks since Trump’s inauguration, MSNBC’s weekday primetime audience average was 1.4 million viewers, up an impressive 77% when compared to pre-inauguration viewership (799,000).

MSNBC’s weekday total day audience coverage was 737,000 viewers, up 34% when compared to pre-inauguration numbers (550,000).

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