Jenna Bush Hager still searching for permanent replacement for Hoda Kotb on 'Today': 'It will happen'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jenna Bush Hager is updating fans on the search for a new permanent co-host to replace Hoda Kotb on the fourth hour of the 'Today' show.

Since Kotb's departure, Hager has been hosting 'Today with Jenna & Friends', with a rotating cast of co-hosts filling in temporarily.

Jenna Bush Hager says 'we definitely want somebody permanent at some point'

In a recent interview, Hager revealed that while the search is ongoing, they are hopeful about finding a permanent co-host.

“We’re still searching,” Jenna Bush Hager told People. “We definitely want somebody permanent at some point just because that’s our show, and I think the Today show is such a family.”

Hager continued, “So to have somebody sit in that seat means a lot to all of us. So it will happen. I think we’ve all just been kind of living day by day and we don’t have any developments yet, but we will.”

Jenna Bush Hager says reunion with Hoda Kotb was 'so nice'

Hager recently reunited with Kotb on 'Today' on May 28, when Kotb joined the NBC morning show as one of Hager’s friends.

“It was so nice,” Bush Hager said of the reunion. “Even if time goes by, there’s a connection that is undeniable, and I felt that way being with her," she added.

Hager also said, "I just felt like my nervous system kind of relaxed and it was so nice to be with her. There could have been no better reunion. It felt really great."

Hoda Kotb left the 'Today' show in January after 17 years.

When she announced her departure, Kotb said, “I’ve been weighing this decision for quite a while – Am I truly ready? But, my sixtieth birthday celebration on the Plaza felt like a shift."

She added, "Like a massive, joyful YES, you are! I saw it all so clearly: my broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie.”

Jenna Bush Hager says Hoda Kotb is 'in such an exciting place'

Kotb later shared with People that her decision was largely influenced by her youngest daughter’s type 1 diabetes.

She said she wanted to focus on her two daughters, 8-year-old Haley and 6-year-old Hope.

She also said recently she was "prioritizing to be healthy" and running in Central Park, which was something missing from her overall wellness. 

Despite missing Kotb on the show, Hager said, “I’m happy my friend is in such an exciting place of her next chapter and she’s so excited about it."

Kotb has also launched a wellness app, Joy 101, since leaving 'Today'.