Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation” in Washington DC Dec. 19, 2019 Photo: Chris Usher/CBS © 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved.
Chris Usher
Margaret Brennan is moderator of CBS News’ “Face the Nation” and CBS News’ senior foreign affairs correspondent based in Washington, D.C.
Brennan began moderating FACE THE NATION in February 2018, becoming only the second woman in the show’s 65-year history to hold the role. Brennan’s interviews with leaders and newsmakers, including President Trump, Vice President Pence, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have continued FACE THE NATION’s legacy as America’s premier Sunday morning public affairs program. Brennan won an Emmy for her 2018 FACE THE NATION interview with the father of a student killed in the Parkland high school shooting included in CBS News’ “39 Days” documentary that took viewers inside the creation of a movement as students turned grief into action.
Brennan has reported on politics, international affairs and global markets since 2002. She joined CBS News in 2012 and was named White House and senior foreign affairs correspondent in 2017.
Since 2012, Brennan has been based in Washington and has reported on the Trump administration, and previously President Obama’s administration, for all CBS News programs. Previously, Brennan covered the State Department for four years, where she reported on major national security stories including nuclear negotiations with Iran; restoration of diplomatic ties with Cuba; the standoff with North Korea; the conflict in Ukraine; and the accord to transfer control of Syria’s chemical weapons.
Prior to joining CBS News, Brennan spent a decade covering the global financial markets. Brennan anchored and reported for Bloomberg Television globally. Previously, she was a correspondent at CNBC with a focus on the consumer during the financial crisis. She also contributed to various NBC News programs. Brennan began her career as a producer for CNBC’s “Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser.”
Brennan is a member at the Council on Foreign Relations and sits on the advisory board for the University of Virginia School of Politics. She is also a member of the Gridiron Club.
Brennan graduated with highest distinction from the University of Virginia in 2002, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in foreign affairs and Middle East studies with a minor in Arabic. As a Fulbright-Hays Scholar, she studied Arabic at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan. She is also the recipient of an honorary doctor of letters degree from Niagara University. Brennan is a Connecticut native.