It’s official. Tom Llamas has begun his new role as NBC Nightly News managing editor and anchor, making him the first Latino to anchor a weekday English-language broadcast network evening newscast.
His first newscast aired on Monday, June 2.
Llamas takes over from Lester Holt, who anchored the program for the past 10 years and whose last newscast was Friday, May 30. Holt will now transition to “Dateline” full-time.
The succession plan was announced in March.
In addition to the 30-minute daily newscast, Llamas will continue to host his one-hour daily weekday streaming show, “Top Story With Tom Llamas,” on the NBC News Now digital channel. The show was launched in 2021, following his return to NBC.
While Llamas is the first Latino to anchor an English-language daily network newscast full-time, he has served as a fill-in anchor for “Nightly News” and previously anchored ABC News’ World News Tonight weekend newscasts.
His colleague José Díaz-Balart, who hosted his own daily MSNBC show until May 2025, has also been on weekend duty, anchoring NBC’s Saturday editions of “Nightly News” since 2016.
UPDATE: After publication, some readers noted that Elizabeth Vargas previously anchored ABC’s World News Tonight. She initially filled in for Peter Jennings during his cancer treatment and was later named co-anchor with Bob Woodruff in December 2005. After Woodruff was injured while on assignment in Iraq, Vargas often anchored solo or with Charlie Gibson or Diane Sawyer. She resigned in May 2006, citing pregnancy, though some reports suggest internal politics may have also played a role.
To clarify, while Vargas was the first Latina to anchor a weekday English-language network newscast, Llamas is the first Latino man to hold that position full-time. Vargas left ABC in 2018 after 14 years with the network.
Here’s Tom Llamas’ first full broadcast:
As I recall Elizabeth Vargas was the first Latina ( dad from Puerto Rican, mom is Irish) to anchor a network newscast. She was paired with Bob Woodruff on ABC World News Tonight in 2006 after the death of Peter Jennings. Correct me if I’m wrong. No shade on Mr Llamas.
You’re correct, but she did specify Latino not Latina.
…maybe its written as a gendered statement ? maybe since both of his parents are Hispanic ?. could be. Sadly, that duet lasted almost nothing on the air.
Poor Bob Woodruff got injured overseas while covering military operations. That was the end of both of them at the anchor desk.
It was actually his professional demise, sadly.
As for her, different case as she was battling some other, painful situation and that, got her out .
But now she looks so much better and healthy.