Anderson Cooper leaving '60 Minutes' after nearly 20 years

 Anderson Cooper is leaving "60 Minutes" after nearly two-decades as a correspondent for the CBS News program. 

"Being a correspondent at 60 Minutes has been one of the great honors of my career. I got to tell amazing stories, and work with some of the best producers, editors, and camera crews in the business," Cooper said in a statement provided to USA TODAY on Feb. 16. The statement continued, "For nearly twenty years, I've been able to balance my jobs at CNN and CBS, but I have little kids now and I want to spend as much time with them as possible, while they still want to spend time with me." The journalist will officially leave the program when his current contract expires. "For more than two decades, Anderson Cooper has taken 60 Minutes viewers on journeys to faraway places, told us unforgettable stories, reported consequential investigations and interviewed many prominent figures," CBS News said in a statement to USA TODAY. "We're grateful to him for dedicating so much of his life to this broadcast, and understand the importance of spending more time with family. 60 Minutes will be here if he ever wants to return."

Cooper, who's also worked for CNN since December 2001 and hosts "Anderson Cooper 360°," has collected a handful of Emmy wins and nominations for his work on the Sunday night newsmagazine, which is in its 58th season. His most recent appearance was on the Sunday, Feb. 15 episode, during "60 Minutes'" "Last Minute" segment. CBS News has undergone several shakeups since Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison named The Free Press founder and opinion writer Bari Weiss editor-in-chief in October. Her hiring stirred controversy over her lack of experience in broadcast news.

The network's sudden decision to pull a "60 Minutes" segment, featuring a mega-prison in El Salvador housing migrants who were deported from the U.S., hours before its airing in December, drew backlash and accusations that the move was politically motivated. The following month, "Inside CECOT," which CBS had initially said needed additional reporting, aired with the inclusion of more details, including comments from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security