Fox News says it is suspending its contributor agreement with Newt Gingrich "due to the intense media speculation" about him as a potential vice presidential candidate of Republican Donald Trump.

Jay Wallace, executive vice president of news at Fox, said Tuesday the network thought it was best to stop Gingrich as a contributor to avoid any conflicts of interest.

The former House speaker joined the network in 1999, and his role was suspended in 2011 when he ran for president in 2012. He returned to Fox in 2015.

Less than an hour after the announcement, Gingrich appeared on Fox as an interview subject.