Margaret Brennan named Face the Nation moderator

CBS News' Margaret Brennan will be the moderator of Face the Nation, the network announced Thursday.  Brennan will assume the permanent role Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018, and will also continue as the network's senior foreign affairs correspondent.

"Face the Nation is one of the longest-running traditions in television," said CBS News President David Rhodes. "Margaret's coverage of the White House and the world make her the ideal moderator for this legendary CBS News franchise at this moment in time."

"Both domestically and globally, news is breaking at an unrelenting pace," said Brennan. "Face the Nation has long been the place that viewers across the country rely on to make sense of it all by cutting through the noise to break down what matters and how it affects our daily lives. I am deeply honored and excited to carry on Face the Nation's tradition of helping provide this crucial context to our viewers."

"Margaret's ability to ask newsmakers tough but fair questions in a deft and respectful manner, her sharp news instincts, and her tremendous ability to make complicated subjects understandable make her the perfect person to lead us into the next chapter of the broadcast," said Mary Hager, Executive Producer of Face the Nation. "The entire Face the Nation team is thrilled she's taking over the anchor spot."

Brennan joined CBS News in 2012, and she has covered a host of vital political and international stories for the network as a correspondent. In recent months, she has interviewed top Trump administration officials, including this extended sit-down with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that aired last Sunday on 60 Minutes:

She has also extensively covered the Trump White House, including this CBS Evening News report from August 2016, when she pressed the president on the role of the "alt-right" in sparking that month's deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia:

Earlier this month for Face the Nation, Brennan interviewed House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, a key member of the Intelligence Committee who had just surprised the political world by announcing his retirement from Congress:

Brennan replaces John Dickerson, the broadcast's previous moderator, who moved to CBS This Morning last month as a co-host. She is 10th in a long line of distinguished journalists who have previously held the anchor position, including Bob Schieffer, Lesley Stahl, George Herman and Howard K. Smith.

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. Brennan was also part of the CBS News team honored with a 2012-2013 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Award for coverage of the Newtown tragedy.

Brennan has been reporting on politics, the economy, and foreign relations since 2002. Prior to joining CBS News, Brennan spent a decade covering global finance, anchoring a weekday show on Bloomberg Television called "InBusiness with Margaret Brennan." She was also a correspondent at CNBC, and she contributed to various NBC News programs.

A Connecticut native, Brennan graduated with highest distinction from the University of Virginia, 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, she is a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations, and she sits on the Advisory Board for the University of Virginia School of Politics.