Rashida Jones is ending her run as president of MSNBC after four years.

Jones is leaving two months after the progressive news channel’s parent company Comcast announced it will spin MSNBC off into a new company with most of its other cable networks. She informed staff of her decision Tuesday morning.

Mark Lazarus, the Comcast executive overseeing the spinoff venture, named Rebecca Kutler, senior vice president of content strategy and Jones’ second-in-command, as interim president.

Jones made the decision to leave, according to people briefed on the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly. She does not have another position lined up.

The network has lost viewers since President-elect Donald Trump won a second term to the White House. The network announced Monday that its most popular host, Rachel Maddow, will return to a five-day-a-week schedule during the first 100 days of the new Trump presidency in the hope of recapturing viewers.

Despite the post-election dip, MSNBC was the second most watched cable network in 2024, behind Fox News, according to Nielsen data. The network had a 65% advantage over CNN, its largest gap ever. MSNBC’s audience has been stable over eight years despite a 28% decline in pay TV households due to cord-cutting.

Jones, who took over for Phil Griffin in 2021, was known for being protective of MSNBC’s strong-willed on-air hosts. The political slant of the network’s talent has made Comcast executives uncomfortable at times during a highly partisan environment.