Veteran news anchor Leon Harris is stepping away from powerhouse Washington, D.C. station WRC-TV.
On Tuesday, April 8, Harris announced he is leaving the NBC owned and operated station after taking a four-month leave of absence due to health concerns.
“After 40 plus years of nonstop work and the dramatic changes in the news and television industry, I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from my role at NBC4,” Harris said in a statement on the station’s website. “This is the right time to prioritize my health and family.”
Related: NBC Washington Anchor Leon Harris ‘Stepping Away’ to Focus on Health After Worrying Broadcast
Harris, thanked his colleagues and viewers, adding: “It’s been an honor.”
The former CNN anchor was live on air during a Thanksgiving 2024 broadcast, when he began struggling to pronounce words, missing the end of sentences, and slurring words, as previously reported.
He was immediately taken off the news desk as concerned viewers began contacting the station.
Although the station initially said Harris was “fine,” NBC4 later confirmed on Dec. 2, 2025 that he would be taking time off to focus on health issues.
In response to his exit, NBC4 released a statement Tuesday thanking Harris for his time at the station.
“We are grateful for Leon’s eight years of service to our newsroom. We thank him for his commitment to our community, dedication to journalism, hard work, and friendship,” the station wrote. “He will be missed, and we wish him nothing but the best.”
Harris’s exact medical condition has not been disclosed. In the past, he has been open about his struggles with alcohol addiction and in 2013, he was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease known as necrotizing pancreatitis — where pancreatitis inflammation is so severe that it causes tissue to die.
He also underwent surgery in September 2024 after breaking his foot in a fall.
Harris has been with WRC-TV since 2017, after previously working 13 years at Washington, D.C. ABC affiliate WJLA. Before that he anchored at CNN.
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