• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, December 20, 2012

Jeff Zucker isn’t supposed to take over CNN until next month, but he may have steered his first notable move. CNN has hired ABC’s Jake Tapper to host a weekday show and serve as chief Washington correspondent..

The announcement came from Ken Jautz, who remains in charge of CNN’s U.S. operations through the end of the year. No details about the show were released.

“I am excited about the prospect of working with both the new leadership and some old friends and colleagues,” Tapper said in a statement.

Tapper has been a senior White House correspondent at ABC and filled in as host of “This Week.” He has also been writing an ABCNews.com blog.

He joined ABC News in 2003 and four years ago was a key correspondent in the presidential election coverage.

Late last month, Zucker was tapped to take over CNN’s global operations, which include 23 separate businesses. But his highest-profile role will be giving CNN a lift as it continues to trail Fox News and MSNBC in prime time.

Zucker has suggested that CNN will not take on a partisan approach similar to the other two. The Tapper hiring doesn’t give much sense about any plans, however, since weekday shows tend to be focused on hard news, although Tapper’s will surely include plenty of political talk.