President of MSNBC Rashida Jones announced Tuesday morning that she plans to step down after four years leading the network. Jones made history when she took on the role in February 2021, becoming the first Black person to lead a major cable news network. During her tenure, MSNBC bypassed CNN in the ratings and ranked second, behind Fox News, at the end of 2024. “I came to this decision over the holidays while reflecting on our remarkable journey and the many successes we’ve achieved together as a team,” Jones said in a memo to staff obtained by NBC News. Rebecca Kutler, currently the senior vice president of content strategy at MSNBC, will take over as the interim president, according to NBC News. Jones hired Kutler away from CNN in 2022, and Jones will stay at MSNBC in an advisory role until March. MSNBC president Rashida Jones attends “Loudmouth” Premiere during 2022 Tribeca Festival at BMCC Tribeca PAC on June 18, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/2022 Getty Images) Jones’ departure comes at a time of significant turmoil for MSNBC. Though the network’s ratings unsurprisingly soared in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, they have tanked since Donald Trump’s victory. While ratings are down at many cable news networks since the election, MSNBC is also in the middle of a spin-off transaction by its parent company, Comcast. In November, Comcast announced that cable channels MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel will be separated as their own publicly traded company. The spin-off will be led by Mark Lazarus, who was previously chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group.