CNBC economic analyst Rick Santelli announced on Friday, Sept. 4, that he will retire from full-time broadcasting after more than 27 years with the network.

His decision was shared with CNBC employees on Thursday, Sept. 3, before he announced it during Friday’s edition of “Squawk Box.”

Santelli’s final full-time day will be Friday, Oct. 2. He deliberately selected the date because it coincides with the federal government’s monthly jobs report, one of the economic releases that defined his CNBC career.

Variety reported that Santelli will not completely disappear from CNBC. He is expected to return regularly as a contributor after leaving his daily position.

Santelli began appearing as a CNBC guest in 1994. He officially joined the network as an on-air editor in June 1999, reporting from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

His coverage has focused on interest rates, foreign exchange, the Federal Reserve, government economic reports, and financial markets, according to his CNBC biography.

Santelli became known for delivering complex economic figures in blunt and animated terms. Federal Reserve decisions and monthly employment reports became signature assignments.

CNBC Editor-in-Chief David Cho praised Santelli’s “energy, authenticity and willingness to challenge conventional thinking” in a memo announcing the retirement, according to Variety.

Santelli also made an impact beyond financial television.

His live criticism of the Obama administration’s housing rescue plan on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, included a call for a “Chicago Tea Party.” The segment spread widely online and became associated with the emergence of the Tea Party political movement.

Santelli later drew attention for impassioned exchanges with CNBC colleagues, including a 2020 argument with “Squawk Box” co-anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin over pandemic-related business restrictions.

His departure will end a daily run spanning four presidential administrations, multiple recessions, a global pandemic, and sweeping changes in financial markets. His contributor role will keep his analysis in CNBC’s coverage after his final full-time jobs report.

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