John Harris will be stepping down as Politico's editor in chief, a post he has held since the company was founded in 2007.

In an internal staff memo, Politico publisher Robert Allbritton said global editor Matthew Kaminski will take over the top newsroom position.

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"Through all this time, there has been one constant. The only person who has held the title of POLITICO editor in chief has been my friend and co-founder, John Harris. Now that, too, is about to change," Allbritton wrote.

"John has long made clear that his eventual destination was to return to the way he originally made his mark on Washington—as a great reporter and one of his generation's most perceptive and authoritative writers," Allbritton added. "Over the last two years, it became evident during our conversations that he was thinking seriously about a transition. His final assignment as editor in chief was to ensure that our newsroom was led by a team in whom I have trust, and who are ready to write a new chapter of their own for POLITICO."

Harris, a 21-year veteran at The Washington Post, co-founded Politico in 2007 along with Jim VandeHei, who overlapped with Harris at the Post.

The transition plans were first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Monday.

Kaminski, 48, worked at the Journal for more than a decade before joining Politico in 2014. He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist the following year.

Updated at 11:49 a.m.