Journalist Gwen Ifill died Monday at the age of 61, PBS confirmed.
Ifill had been battling cancer, the Associated Press reported.
"I am very sad to tell you that our dear friend and beloved colleague Gwen Ifill passed away today in hospice care in Washington," WETA president and CEO Sharon Percy Rockefeller wrote in an email to staff at the public TV station Monday, according to Politico. "I spent an hour with her this morning and she was resting comfortably, surrounded by loving family and friends... Earlier today, I conveyed to Gwen the devoted love and affection of all of us at WETA/NewsHour. Let us hold Gwen and her family even closer now in our hearts and prayers."
Ifill is best known for her roles as moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week" and co-anchor and managing editor of the "PBS NewsHour."
Ifill, who moderated the 2004 vice-presidential debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards and the 2008 vice-presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin, was absent from political coverage this year due to health issues, Politico reported.
Friends and fans of Ifill's, including CNN's Jake Tapper and Donald Trump's former presidential campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, took to Twitter Monday afternoon to pay their respects.
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