‘Fox & Friends’ co-host Steve Doocy leaving show full time, but will still appear frequently

FNC “Fox & Friends” co-host Steve Doocy announced that he’s transitioning to a different schedule.

Near the end of the May 1, 2025, edition of the show, Doocy appeared on camera to announce that he would no longer be in the studio on a daily basis moving forward, effectively immediately.

Instead, he will take on what he’s dubbed the “coast to coast host” role that is being made possible, at least in part, by shifting to being based in Florida. He labeled the role as “reporting,” but then also noted he will still continue to share his “opinions” with viewers. The role, which he said was created with the help of CEO Suzanne Scott, calls for him to work three days per week.

It appears one of the driving factors for his decision, which he was careful to not label as retirement, was the 3:30 a.m. alarm to get up and go to work as well as a desire to spend more time with his family.

“It is a great job, but the hours suck,” he said during his on-air announcement while sitting alongside co-hosts Brian Kilmeade, Ainsley Earhardt and Lawrence Jones. 

Doocy also took time to acknowledge the network’s staffers, crew and family members, including his son, Peter Doocy, who covers the White House for the network.

After his announcement, Doocy was treated to some retrospective clips and well wishes, including a taped one from Donald Trump.

Doocy noted he will be taking 10 days off but then is expected back on the network’s air. It was not immediately clear where he would appear from on the debut of his new role.

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Doocy joined FNC in 1996 and began hosting “Fox & Friends” in 1998. That means he’s woken up at 3:30 a.m. on an estimated 6,828 days, according to a count by AI that Doocy shared on-air. Proir to Fox, he worked as a reporter at several local TV stations before joining America’s Talking.

He had a brief stint anchoring at WCBS in New York before jumping to Fox. He also worked for NBC as a features reporter at WRC in Washington, D.C.. He was also host of the syndicated “House Party with Steve Doocy,” based off the 1960s show hosted by Art Linkletter, as well as “Not Just News,” a children’s show.

He was one of two hosts, along with Kilmeade, who have hosted since the show’s February 1998 launch.

It wasn’t clear if the “coast to coast” moniker will be an official banner for Doocy’s segments. The phrase was used previously on the network’s sister channel Fox Business for “Cavuto: Coast to Coast,” which ended in late 2024 after host Neil Cavuto exited the network.

Although not mentioned in the announcement, Doocy could be shifting his primary residence to Florida to take advantage of not having to pay income tax. Such an arrangement, if it exists, requires the person to live in Florida at least 183 days per year, making it difficult for the host of a daily program to claim Florida as their primary residence unless they join the show remotely.

MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, who are married, spend much of their time in Florida and reportedly qualify as residents of the state. When one or both of them is in Florida, they anchor “Morning Joe” from a home-based studio that MSNBC set up for them.