Chuck Todd is leaving Meet the Press and will be replaced by Kristen Welker : NPR

“Meet The Press” moderator Chuck Todd speaks on SiriusXM’s Author Confidential on December 3, 2014 in Washington, DC.

Larry French/Getty Images

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Larry French/Getty Images

“Meet The Press” moderator Chuck Todd speaks on SiriusXM’s Author Confidential on December 3, 2014 in Washington, DC.

Larry French/Getty Images

Meet the Press host and moderator Chuck Todd announced on Sunday that he will step down from the popular political show in a few months.

Todd said at the end of Sunday’s program that he would hand over hosting duties in September.

“While today is not my final show, this is going to be my final summer here at Meet the Press,” he said.

“I’ve loved so much of this job — helping to explain America to Washington and explain Washington to America,” Todd added.

NBC’s chief White House correspondent, Kristen Welker, will become the show’s new host, saying in a tweet that she’s “learned so much from sitting with [Todd] at the anchor desk and simply experiencing his passion for politics” and is “humbled and grateful” to take over.

According to NBC, Todd will remain at the network in a new role as chief political analyst and will focus on long-form journalism.

Todd was previously NBC’s political director and took the helm of Meet the Press in 2014 after former host David Gregory stepped down.

Debuting in 1947, Meet the Press is America’s longest continuously running TV show and part of the Sunday morning slate of national political talk shows, which also includes CBS’s Face the Nation and ABC’s This Week.