Al Jazeera English has hired former CNN chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt and former CNN national politics correspondent Eva McKend, bolstering its Washington bureau ahead of new U.S. political programming.
Marquardt will anchor the network's coverage of the U.S. 250th anniversary and will then take over the daily Washington-based program "This Is America." He announced his new role in a video posted online, expressing enthusiasm for joining the Qatar-based news network.
"I’ve been a huge fan of Al Jazeera’s for a very long time. They do some of the very best reporting from all around the world. Really excited to get started here," Marquardt said.
Marquardt's move follows his departure from CNN after a jury ruled in a defamation case that he had falsely portrayed a former Navy sailor. The lawsuit stemmed from Marquardt's 2021 reporting that alleged the sailor illegally exploited Afghans during the U.S. withdrawal from the country. The sailor, Zachary Young, contended that he had worked with corporate sponsors and nonprofit organizations to facilitate evacuations. CNN reportedly informed Marquardt he was being let go over "over unspecified 'editorial differences'" after a post-settlement ethics review, though the network declined public comment.
McKend also confirmed her move to Al Jazeera English as a Washington correspondent, stating, "I’m excited to share I’ve joined @aljazeeraenglish as a Washington Correspondent." She added that through her assignments covering American politics, she has always aimed to center marginalized groups and is "honored to continue that work for a global audience."
Al Jazeera, which began as an Arabic satellite news channel in 1996, is expanding its U.S. political coverage with these new additions. McKend's career trajectory includes covering lawmakers in upstate New York and Vermont before reporting from Capitol Hill and CNN.