ABC News said Tom Llamas would anchor both editions of its weekend “World News Tonight” broadcast, while Cecilia Vega, who had shared those duties with him, will become senior White House correspondent for the Disney unit.
Llamas was named Chief National Correspondent, and Jonathan Karl was named Chief Washington Correspondent and Chief White House Correspondent.
ABC News in March of 2015 named Vega and Llamas anchors of the weekend edition of “World News Tonight,” making official the posts the pair had actually been filling since former weekend anchor David Muir became anchor of the weekday program.
The maneuvers show ABC News shoring up its White House contingent at a challenging time for the national press. Relations between the Trump White House and the media are at a low, owing to distrust made evident on both sides.
Karl has reported on four key beats – the White House, Congress, State Department and Pentagon over the course of his career, and the new Trump Administration will be the fourth he’s covered in his career. Vega, meanwhile, had spent much time covering the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders during the recent presidential campaign, all the while maintaining her anchoring duties.