ABC News White House correspondent Cecilia Vega to join CBS’s ‘60 Minutes’
Cecilia Vega will step down as chief White House correspondent for ABC News and join CBS News as correspondent for the weekly television newsmagazine “60 Minutes,” the Tiffany Network announced on Thursday.
“Cecilia Vega is a sensational reporter and storyteller,” Bill Owens, the executive producer of “60 Minutes,” said in a press release.
“I have admired her work for a long, long time and couldn’t be more excited to welcome her to ’60 Minutes.'”
“Her new colleagues couldn’t agree more,” said Owens.
Vega, 46, also released a statement indicating she was happy to be coming on board.
“This is a dream come true. I am beyond honored to join the ranks of this legendary show and to work alongside the best reporters in journalism,” Vega said in her own statement.
Vega’s career path started in San Francisco, where she worked as a reporter for ABC’s local affiliate KGO.
In 2011, she joined ABC News as its West Coast correspondent based in Los Angeles.
Four years later, she was named anchor of the Saturday edition of ABC News flagship nightly newscast “World News Tonight.”
Vega is perhaps best known for her clashes with then-President Donald Trump when she was a senior White House correspondent for the network.
In October 2018, Trump called on Vega during a Rose Garden press conference.
“She’s shocked that I picked her,” the then-president quipped as staffers lined up behind him laughed. “She’s, like, in a state of shock.”
“I’m not,” Vega said. “Thank you, Mr. President.”
Trump apparently misheard Vega’s “thank you” and may have thought she said “thinking.”
“I know you’re not thinking,” Trump said. “You never do.”
Vega then responded: “I’m sorry?”
“No, go ahead,” Trump said. “Go ahead.” Vega then proceeded to ask her question about the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to a seat on the Supreme Court.
When asked about the interaction with Trump, Vega told the Cut: “That was a doozy. It was a little baffling to me in the moment because I thought my portion of the exchange was very clear.”