Anderson Cooper is leaving “60 Minutes” after nearly two decades with the program in the latest CBS News shakeup. “Being a correspondent at 60 Minutes has been one of the great honors of my career. I got to tell amazing stories, and work with some of the best producers, editors, and camera crews in the business,” Cooper said in a statement, according to Deadline. “For nearly twenty years, I’ve been able to balance my jobs at CNN and CBS, but I have little kids now and I want to spend as much time with them as possible, while they still want to spend time with me,” he continued. BREAKING: Anderson Cooper Set to Exit CBS News’ ’60 Minutes’ – Variety pic.twitter.com/oNLeHg7BTr — Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) February 16, 2026 Deadline shared further: Breaker first reported on his departure and his final segment, a story on Ken Burns that aired Sunday. Cooper signed a new deal with CNN late last year, as his presence on the network has included not just his primetime show but also hosting the Sunday newsmagazine The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper and the podcast and streaming series All There Is. Cooper started on 60 Minutes during the 2006-2007 season. His exit follows the tumult in the network news division, as 60 Minutes found itself at the center of Paramount Global’s efforts to complete its sale to Skydance last year. CBS News has been through numerous internal changes since Bari Weiss took over as editor-in-chief, sparking clashes in the newsroom. Last month, Variety reported the network was veering toward “dysfunction.” Ten people familiar with the workings of CBS News say the Paramount Skydance unit is veering toward dysfunction, with a management team led by Bari Weiss that doesn’t value the standards held by veteran journalists — and a staff that views its editor-in-chief and her hand-picked… pic.twitter.com/0x7oL2bMzC — Variety (@Variety) January 20, 2026 The New York Post explained: One early clash came after a “60 Minutes” segment on El Salvador’s CECOT prison was pulled from the broadcast shortly before airtime, prompting backlash inside the newsroom before it eventually aired and straining relations between veteran staff and new leadership. The shakeups soon extended beyond the newsmagazine. Weiss weighed broader changes to the on-air lineup — at one point pursuing Cooper for the “CBS Evening News” anchor role — before the broadcast was ultimately reorganized around Tony Dokoupil, drawing scrutiny within the network. CBS News later carried out layoffs affecting dozens of employees, followed by buyouts that led 11 staffers, including multiple producers, to leave the “CBS Evening News.” The network is now preparing deeper cuts expected to impact about 15% of its workforce while also confronting internal criticism over editorial direction and newsroom morale.