In 1996, Velshi was awarded a
fellowship to the
United States Congress from the
American Political Science Association. In this capacity he worked with
Lee H. Hamilton, then a
Democratic Representative from
Indiana. After
The Turnaround, Velshi was assigned to the newly launched
The Situation Room from 2005 to 2006. Velshi joined
American Morning as business correspondent in late 2006 and then again as co-anchor in 2011. In 2008, Velshi undertook a cross-country road trip aboard the
CNN Election Express, during which he travelled from
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to
Los Angeles,
California, stopping along the way to discuss money issues with Americans. Velshi also spent 10 days riding the CNN Election Express through rural
Texas before that state's March 4, 2008, primaries. Velshi regularly was a substitute anchor for CNN/U.S. programs such as
American Morning. On Saturday and Sunday he co-hosted a business program called
Your Money. Velshi also hosted CNN's
Energy Hunt, which took him to the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and to the
Oil Sands of Canada in 2008. Tragic events during 2008 brought Velshi more airtime, including reporting from the
now-destroyed Marriott Hotel in
Islamabad,
Pakistan, after the killing of
Benazir Bhutto. During coverage of Hurricanes
Gustav and
Ike, Velshi appeared on air, on location from hurricane-stricken areas, as the storms hit. During the
2008 financial crisis, Velshi again appeared on television frequently throughout the day on shows including
American Morning and
Anderson Cooper 360° and took viewers' live calls during special editions of
Your Money and during his weekly call-in radio show. Until leaving CNN, Velshi co-hosted the market opening edition of
World Business Today on
CNN International. Being Muslim, Velshi regularly acknowledges his background and perspective when discussions involve Islam. Velshi has strongly defended the Muslim community's right to build a mosque and Islamic center (
Park51) near
Ground Zero in
New York City. Velshi has also been critical of
Peter King's hearings on Islamic radicalization in the United States as a form of
Islamophobia, branding King as "naive". Velshi supports the separation of mosque and state and rejects "
Political Islam", which requires the implementation of
Sharia law.
Al Jazeera America On April 4, 2013, it was announced that Velshi would be leaving CNN to join
Al Jazeera America to host a weekly 30-minute magazine-style prime-time program called
Real Money with Ali Velshi. He was the first on-air personality to be hired for the new channel. The channel stated that it hoped that Velshi's show would initially start off as a weekly show and become a daily show by the end of the year.
Real Money with Ali Velshi launched on August 20, 2013, as a daily weekday show. On May 12, 2015, the show relaunched as
Ali Velshi on Target. This show ended in April 2016 when Al Jazeera America shut down.
MSNBC and NBC Velshi joined MSNBC in October 2016, with additional duties at MSNBC's parent news division,
NBC News, for which he serves as Business Correspondent. Velshi initially co-anchored the 1:00 pm ET MSNBC news program
Velshi & Ruhle with
Stephanie Ruhle, as well as having his own 3:00 PM ET news program
MSNBC Live with Ali Velshi. Velshi was also appointed as the fill-in host of ''
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell'' on Friday edition. In December 2019, it was announced that he would move to a new weekend morning show,
Velshi. Writings Velshi is represented by the New York literary agency
N.S. Bienstock and by speaking agency
Greater Talent Network. His first book,
Gimme My Money Back: Your Guide to Beating the Financial Crisis, was published on January 2, 2009. His second book,
How to Speak Money: The Language & Knowledge You Need Now, co-authored by longtime friend and co-anchor
Christine Romans, was released by
John Wiley & Sons in November 2011. ==Awards and recognition==