(https://static.washingtonsun.com)  (../../static.washingtonsun.com/resource/0000018b-da21-d057-a3fb-daef740a0000/styles/default/All.min.ef6bcdb03159584485a2d56e04170e38.gz.css) The White House Called Fox News’ CEO to Complain About Bartiromo Firing - The Washington Sun (maria-bartiromo-firing-fox-news.html) (../manifest.webmanifest)  (../favicon.ico) (../icon.svg)  (https://washingtonsun.com/apple-touch-icon.png) (https://www.googletagmanager.com)  (https://www.google-analytics.com)  (../../static.washingtonsun.com/resource/0000018b-da21-d057-a3fb-daef740a0000/static/redesignBundle.f82bde763ad122c32d5f8d38aad3d6ef.gz.css)                                                                                                                                             (https://washingtonsun.com/) The Washington Sun       Main Navigation     Show menu     Close menu  (https://washingtonsun.com/newsletter) Log in    NewslettersExpand   (https://washingtonsun.com/account/newsletters) Sign up for our newsletters  (https://washingtonsun.com/newsletters) The Washington Sun Daily  (https://washingtonsun.com/afternoon-sun-newsletter) Afternoon Sun  (https://washingtonsun.com/metro-newsletter) Metro     (https://washingtonsun.com/weather) Weather  CampaignsExpand   (https://washingtonsun.com/2026-election) 2026 Election  (https://washingtonsun.com/2028-election) 2028 Election  (https://washingtonsun.com/democrats) Democrats  (https://washingtonsun.com/money) Money  (https://washingtonsun.com/republicans) Republicans     (https://washingtonsun.com/congress) Congress Expand   (https://washingtonsun.com/house) House  (https://washingtonsun.com/senate) Senate     NationalExpand   (https://washingtonsun.com/courts) Courts  (https://washingtonsun.com/us-news) U.S. News     (https://washingtonsun.com/metro) Metro  (https://washingtonsun.com/sports) Sports  (https://washingtonsun.com/policy) Policy Expand   (https://washingtonsun.com/agencies) Agencies  (https://washingtonsun.com/climate-environment) Climate & Environment  (https://washingtonsun.com/economy) Economy  (https://washingtonsun.com/education) Education  (https://washingtonsun.com/health-science) Health & Science  (https://washingtonsun.com/housing) Housing  (https://washingtonsun.com/immigration) Immigration  (https://washingtonsun.com/technology) Technology  (https://washingtonsun.com/trade-tariffs) Trade & Tariffs     StatesExpand   (https://washingtonsun.com/california) California  (https://washingtonsun.com/georgia) Georgia  (https://washingtonsun.com/louisiana) Louisiana  (https://washingtonsun.com/mississippi) Mississippi  (https://washingtonsun.com/new-york) New York  (https://washingtonsun.com/north-carolina) North Carolina  (https://washingtonsun.com/ohio) Ohio  (https://washingtonsun.com/oklahoma) Oklahoma  (https://washingtonsun.com/pennsylvania) Pennsylvania  (https://washingtonsun.com/texas) Texas  (https://washingtonsun.com/utah) Utah  (https://washingtonsun.com/vermont) Vermont  (https://washingtonsun.com/virginia) Virginia  (https://washingtonsun.com/wisconsin) Wisconsin     (https://washingtonsun.com/whitehouse) White House Expand   (https://washingtonsun.com/defense) Defense  (https://washingtonsun.com/donald-trump) Donald Trump  (https://washingtonsun.com/foreign-policy) Foreign Policy  (https://washingtonsun.com/trump-white-house) Trump’s White House     (https://washingtonsun.com/perspectives) Perspectives Expand   (https://washingtonsun.com/perspectives) Latest Perspectives  (https://washingtonsun.com/perspectives/dana-milbank) Dana Milbank  (https://washingtonsun.com/perspectives/matt-k-lewis) Matt K. Lewis  (https://washingtonsun.com/perspectives/features) Features  (https://washingtonsun.com/perspectives/forums) Forums     (https://washingtonsun.com/podcast) Podcast Expand   (https://washingtonsun.com/podcast) Washington Sun Cast • Episode List  (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-notus/id1848365152) Listen on Apple Podcasts  (https://open.spotify.com/show/0hcXZHYEUm9fRqYefcgpaw?si=066d8bc3d14c40a2) Listen on Spotify  (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGeqcaOnLUrlwrXqYx2nutvc8Dnn9F3Vm&si=hRpMQ4R1fiFbVK6h) Watch on Youtube     Who Are We?Expand   (https://www.notus.org/about-us) About The Washington Sun  (https://washingtonsun.com/events) Events  (https://washingtonsun.com/about-us/jobs) Work for us  (https://washingtonsun.com/about-us/press-releases) Press Releases     Follow UsExpand   (https://x.com/washingtonsun)   X (Twitter)   (https://bsky.app/profile/washingtonsun.bsky.social)   Bluesky   (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-washington-sun/)   LinkedIn   (https://www.instagram.com/washingtonsun)   Instagram   (https://www.tiktok.com/@notusreports)   TikTok   (https://www.youtube.com/@thewashingtonsun)   YouTube             (https://washingtonsun.com/newsletter)   Log in        (https://washingtonsun.com/podcast) Listen to The Washington Sun Cast: Data Centers, MAGA Inc. and Our New Name      (https://washingtonsun.com/trump-white-house) Trump White House    The White House Called Fox News’ CEO to Complain About Bartiromo Firing Administration officials conveyed to the network that the firing was “totally unacceptable,” White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said.                   (FOX News Bartiromo)    President Donald Trump has defended Maria Bartiromo since her departure, calling her a “total professional” and “true warrior.” (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)   By (https://washingtonsun.com/torrie-herrington) Torrie Herrington   September 9, 2026 03:21 p.m.         (mailto:?body=The%20White%20House%20Called%20Fox%20News%E2%80%99%20CEO%20to%20Complain%20About%20Bartiromo%20Firing%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwashingtonsun.com%2Ftrump-white-house%2Fmaria-bartiromo-firing-fox-news%0A%0AAdministration%20officials%20conveyed%20to%20the%20network%20that%20the%20firing%20was%20%E2%80%9Ctotally%20unacceptable%2C%E2%80%9D%20White%20House%20trade%20adviser%20Peter%20Navarro%20said.)   Email    (https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwashingtonsun.com%2Ftrump-white-house%2Fmaria-bartiromo-firing-fox-news&mini=true&title=The%20White%20House%20Called%20Fox%20News%E2%80%99%20CEO%20to%20Complain%20About%20Bartiromo%20Firing&summary=Administration%20officials%20conveyed%20to%20the%20network%20that%20the%20firing%20was%20%E2%80%9Ctotally%20unacceptable%2C%E2%80%9D%20White%20House%20trade%20adviser%20Peter%20Navarro%20said.&source=The%20Washington%20Sun)   LinkedIn   (https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwashingtonsun.com%2Ftrump-white-house%2Fmaria-bartiromo-firing-fox-news&text=The%20White%20House%20Called%20Fox%20News%E2%80%99%20CEO%20to%20Complain%20About%20Bartiromo%20Firing)   Twitter     Copy Link copied             A top adviser to President Donald Trump said this week that unnamed White House officials called Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott to complain following (https://washingtonsun.com/media/fox-news-business-network-media-host-maria-bartiromo) the network’s ouster of longtime personality Maria Bartiromo.   It’s the latest twist in a long and complicated relationship between the Trump-era White House and Fox News, and comes after reports suggested Bartiromo’s ouster was a result of her decision to share newsroom communications about coverage with the White House.    Peter Navarro, Trump’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, (http://x.com/NEWSMAX/status/2097522883719245907) made the claim   during an appearance Tuesday on Newsmax’s “Greg Kelly Reports.” He also claimed the incident was evidence that Fox News was suppressing pro-Trump coverage and had abandoned its role as a conservative agenda-setter. “Suffice it to say that Suzanne Scott got a call, and basically the White House let her know that that kind of thing is totally unacceptable,” Navarro said. Trending                               (President Donald Trump speaks outside the White House)     (https://washingtonsun.com/trump-white-house/state-dinner-china-president-xi-jinping-visit-washington-dc) State Dinner in the Works for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Visit to D.C.                                   (Election 2026 Republicans)     (https://washingtonsun.com/trump-white-house/trump-dividend-americans-vote-republican) Trump Offers $5,000 ‘Dividend’ to Every American Adult if Republicans Win Midterms                                   (Sen. John Fetterman)     (https://washingtonsun.com/2026-election/fetterman-democratic-party-gop-convention) Fetterman Says He Won’t Leave His Party if Democrats Win the Senate                                   (Election 2026 Rhode Island)     (https://washingtonsun.com/2026-election/rhode-island-governors-race-incumbent-loses-primary) Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee Loses Democratic Primary           He later added: “The bigger story here is, forget about anybody thinking that Fox is a conservative network that’s friendly to MAGA, that’s friendly to Trump.” Navarro’s comments came days after Fox announced that Bartiromo was no longer with the company after more than 12 years there. The network called her departure a “business decision” but did not provide a specific reason. In an (https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/sep/8/fox-news-muzzles-maria-bartiromo/) op-ed   published Tuesday, Navarro said Bartiromo had planned to interview him about Trump’s July 16 speech, in which the president discussed debunked allegations of Chinese interference in the 2020 election. Navarro said Bartiromo later sent him internal guidance telling Fox Business staff not to promote the speech or discuss the 2020 election, which he passed along to other White House officials. Bartiromo’s disclosure of internal coverage decisions ultimately led to her firing, the (https://www.status.news/p/maria-bartiromo-fox-news-announcement-departure) media newsletter Status reported   . Bartiromo’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, has disputed that she was fired, saying reports that she was no longer a Fox employee were “absolutely and unequivocally false.”    Navarro nevertheless blamed Scott for what he described as a broader effort to keep Trump-focused coverage within limits. “Suzanne Scott is the enforcer,” Navarro said on Newsmax, arguing that Fox will give its audience conservative programming while avoiding some of the issues most important to Trump and his supporters. Fox has faced costly legal battles over its coverage of the 2020 election, and Bartiromo was among the Fox personalities named in several lawsuits alleging the network promoted false claims about voting-machine companies. Fox settled Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit for (https://apnews.com/article/fox-news-dominion-lawsuit-trial-trump-2020-0ac71f75acfacc52ea80b3e747fb0afe) $787.5 million in 2023   , while a separate Smartmatic case remains pending. Trump has (https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117210339497817224) defended   Bartiromo since her departure, calling her a “total professional” and “true warrior.” Navarro has gone further, portraying Bartiromo’s exit as evidence that Fox is pulling back from some of the issues that have defined Trump’s relationship with the network. “The muzzling of Maria Bartiromo by Fox News Media Chief Executive Suzanne Scott should be a wake-up call to every Fox viewer who believes the network is pro-Trump and pro-MAGA,” he wrote.   Author   (AJI-Fellow2025_Torrie Herrington.png)   (https://washingtonsun.com/torrie-herrington) Torrie Herrington is a reporter at The Washington Sun and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.                        The Latest on The Washington Sun                               (Election 2026 Republicans)     (https://washingtonsun.com/2026-election/tim-scott-democrats-dallas-republican-midterm-convention) Sen. Tim Scott Says Democratic Senate Candidates ‘Hate’ American Culture                                   (Supreme Court)     (https://washingtonsun.com/courts/missouri-redistricting-case-supreme-court) Missouri Redistricting Case Reaches Supreme Court — Again                                   (AP26252844426074)     (https://washingtonsun.com/2026-election/fetterman-gop-convention-appearance) Fetterman Bashes ‘Socialism’ in Surprise GOP Convention Appearance                                   (Trump)     (https://washingtonsun.com/policy/blanche-speech-republican-convention) Blanche Departs From DOJ Norms With a Speech at Republican Convention             Welcome back to The Washington Sun!  Update your profile and manage your newsletter subscriptions in My Account.   (https://washingtonsun.com/account) Update Account  Close        (https://washingtonsun.com/about-us) About The Washington Sun  (https://washingtonsun.com/about-us/jobs) Work for us  (https://washingtonsun.com/online-terms-of-use) Terms of Use  (https://washingtonsun.com/subscription-terms-and-conditions) Subscription Agreement Terms and Conditions  (https://washingtonsun.com/privacy-policy) Privacy Policy  (https://www.washingtonsun.com/privacy-policy#california) Your CA Privacy Rights  (https://washingtonsun.com/support-faq) Support FAQ  (mailto:contactus@washsun.com) Contact us  (https://washingtonsun.com/index.rss) RSS Feed     © 2026 (https://washingtonsun.com/) NOTUS MEDIA, LLC   (Close)   Close Auth Dialog