Meghan McCain announces her plan to leave 'The View'

"This is going to be my last season here at the The View," McCain said, in part. "I will be here through the end of July to finish out the season, which I am grateful for. This was not an easy decision. ... COVID has changed the world for all of us, and it changed the way, at least for me, the way I am looking at life, the way I'm living my life, the way I want my life to look like."

The eldest daughter of late Arizona Senator John McCain continued:

"When I said goodbye to all of you in the studio over a year and a half ago, I had just found out I was pregnant. I left [New York City] very quickly because my OBGYN wanted me to leave because he wasn't sure about how COVID could possibly impact pregnant women. "I came to the D.C. area, which is where my husband and I have always split time, and it's where I grew up splitting time, and we have this incredible life here. We're surrounded by my family, his family, by friends, by this incredible support unit. And I think as any new mom knows, when I think about where I want Liberty to have her first steps and her first words, I just have this really wonderful life here that ultimately I felt like I didn't want to leave."

Variety additionally reported on McCain's decision:

"A source tells Variety that McCain made the decision herself to depart and that recent rumblings about on-set feuds had nothing to do with her exit. McCain’s contract isn't up yet, but earlier this summer, she approached ABC executives to ask to be released from her deal because she does not want to move back to New York City. She had relocated to Washington D.C. during the pandemic, where she and her husband, political commentator and frequent Fox News personality, Ben Domenech, are raising their young daughter, Liberty. According to the DailyMail, McCain has two years remaining on her contract.

"There is no decision yet as to who will replace McCain. But, “The View” is well-known for its constant game of musical chairs."

McCain joined The View in late 2017, around the same time she married Domenech. Liberty, born last September, is their first child. She admitted during her announcement that her father, who died from brain cancer in August 2018, was responsible for her decision to sign on in the first place.

"I didn't want to join the show, as I think I've talked about in the past" she said, "and it was my dad who encouraged me to do it. He said that I could never give up an opportunity to work on such an iconic show and to work with Whoopi Goldberg, and he was right. It was one of the last things he told me to do before he died."

There have been many View co-hosts since Barbara Walters launched the program in 1997, but McCain will be leaving behind Goldberg, Joy Behar—perhaps her most frequent sparring partner—Sara Heines and Sunny Hostin.

The View airs weekdays beginning at noon EST on ABC.