CBS Sunday lineup features NASA chief, former CDC doctor, lawmakers

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and former CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry will anchor Sunday’s “Face the Nation” as CBS News threads together space policy, public health and domestic politics in one hour. The program will also feature NCAA President Charlie Baker, the former Massachusetts governor, plus a joint interview with Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat and Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida.

The guest list points to the week’s likely flashpoints before the first question is even asked. Isaacman arrives as the 15th NASA administrator, sworn in on Dec. 18, 2025, and he has already used the show to talk through the Artemis II mission. NASA continues to cast Artemis as central to its moon program, making Isaacman the administration’s most visible voice on a project that carries budget, schedule and prestige risks for the agency.

Isaacman’s profile is larger than the usual bureaucratic turn at the microphone. NASA says he commanded Inspiration4, the first all-civilian orbital flight, and that the mission raised more than $250 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. That background gives him a rare blend of spaceflight credibility and philanthropic cachet as the administration faces pressure to show progress on the moon program and explain how it balances ambition with execution.

Houry’s appearance brings a different kind of pressure point. She left the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in August 2025 amid a wider leadership rupture after the ouster of CDC Director Susan Monarez, with senior officials citing concerns over scientific independence and political interference in vaccines and public-health decisions. CDC leadership pages now list Jay Bhattacharya as performing the delegable duties of director, a sign that the agency’s internal turbulence has not settled.

Baker’s presence adds another institutional file to the mix: college sports. As NCAA president, the former governor enters the conversation at a time when athletics faces fresh scrutiny over money, governance and the changing economics of player compensation. His slot on the lineup suggests producers want a national conversation that reaches beyond Washington’s usual policy trench.

The joint interview with Espaillat and Gimenez is likely to sharpen the immigration and political-representation debate, with lawmakers from New York and Florida offering sharply different perspectives from the same table. CBS News will air the program at 10:30 a.m. ET and stream it on Paramount+ and CBSNews.com at 12:30 p.m. ET, putting an unusually broad policy mix in front of a Sunday audience already watching how the Trump administration handles NASA, CDC and domestic affairs.