Wendy McMahon, the president and CEO ofCBS News, abruptly resigned from her position in the midst of a legal faceoff between parent company Paramount and PresidentDonald Trump. McMahon, who had been in the position since 2023, pointed to a disagreement between her and the company as the reason for her exit, according to a memo sent to staff andreported by Reuterson May 19. "It's become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward," McMahon said in the memo, according to Reuters. "It's time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership." CBS' corporate parent, Paramount Global, began talks with Trump's lawyers in April over his $20 billion lawsuit against the network's news show,60 Minutes.Trump has alleged the program intentionally misled the public in editing an interview with then-Vice PresidentKamala Harrisduring the 2024 presidential race, accusing the network of an effort to "tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party" in the November 5 election. CBS has repeatedly denied the accusations, and legal experts have told theNew York Timesthe lawsuit is "baseless." However, the lawsuit entered mediation last month, signaling Paramount could choose to settle, which has raised concerns over how that may embolden the administration's increasingly aggressive stance toward major media organizations, the New York Timesreported. McMahon's resignation is just the latest shakeup at CBS News amid Trump's legal assault. More:'60 Minutes' correspondent Scott Pelley calls out parent company Paramount McMahon's exit follows the departure of longtime60 Minutesexecutive producer Bill Owens in April. Owns, who announced he would leave the venerated show at the end of the season, cited concerns about editorial independence, according to a memo seen by Reuters. Owens said it had "become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it," according to a note to staffers,CBS reported. Trump's disdain for the media is well-documented, stretching back to his early 2016 campaign trail days when "fake news" became a familiar chant, to the present day. The Republican leader, early into his second term, moved toblock the Associated Pressfrom the Oval Office over the president's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, and on March 14, signed anexecutive orderattempting to dismantle the federally funded news outlet Voice of America. On May 1, the president signed an executive order topull federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, imperiling America's largest public broadcasters PBS and NPR. TheFederal Communications Commissionis also mounting assorted investigations against CBS, ABC, NBC, NPR, and PBS, according to theCommittee to Protect Journalists, seen by press freedomadvocatesas a serious infringement on First Amendment rights. Contributing: Reuters. Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her atkapalmer@usatoday.comand on X @KathrynPlmr. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:CBS News president Wendy McMahon resigns amid Trump Paramount lawsuit
