THE NEXT FIGHT

Rahm Emanuel Joins ABC News as Contributor

The famously aggressive mayor wasted no time joining the pundit class in the 48 hours since leaving office.

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ABC News has a new employee: Rahm Emanuel.

The former Chicago mayor is joining the broadcast network as a contributor, multiple sources told The Daily Beast.

The outspoken mayor and former chief of staff for President Barack Obama took meetings last year with several networks, including MSNBC and CNN, pursuing a potential punditry gig, and had been increasing his national media appearances on cable-news networks.

Emanuel appeared on the network’s Sunday politics program This Week earlier this month, and one source familiar with the situation told The Daily Beast that the ex-mayor will be appearing on shows like Good Morning America as a political analyst.

A spokesperson for the City of Chicago declined to comment on Emanuel’s employment status, but told The Daily Beast that he was currently on a two-week cycling trip.

For a person with little past editorial experience, the former mayor has already racked up an impressive series of titles in the 48 hours since leaving office.

On Tuesday, Emanuel published his first story as a contributing editor for The Atlantic, arguing that Democrats need to become “the party of justice” by demanding accountability from powerful individuals.

Emanuel has also not been afraid to criticize his own party. In recent media appearances, the famously aggressive mayor has criticized a perceived leftward drift of the Democratic Party.

The ex-mayor joins a long list of former politicians who have joined television networks in the past year, including—among others—former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, who joined CBS News, as well as former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum and ex-Rep. Mia Love (R-UT), who both joined CNN.

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Maxwell TaniMedia reporter

Lachlan Cartwright

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