Kaitlan Collins spent Wednesday night going toe to toe on live TV with a former U.S. President who refused to acknowledge her fact-checking of his many conspiracy theories and untruths, then berated her and talked over her. An attending crowd hooted and cheered. And that just may be a warm up.

Collins, the CNN up-and-comer who has gone from White House correspondent to morning anchor all before turning 35, is widely expected to be given new anchoring duties at 9 p.m., according to two people familiar with the matter. The hour is one of the most competitive on the cable-news schedule and has served as a home