Sanders to discuss Hegseth comments on Face the Nation

Margaret Brennan opened Bernie Sanders' Face the Nation interview by pressing the Vermont independent on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's remarks to Congress. CBS updated the transcript page at 12:41 p.m. EDT on July 26, the same day Sanders appeared as one of the program's featured guests.

CBS had already put Sanders in a Sunday lineup with Republican Sen. John Kennedy and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz. Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan airs on CBS at 10:30 a.m. ET and streams at 12:30 p.m. ET on Paramount+ and CBSNews.com, giving Sanders a national platform in one of Washington's most watched political venues.

The visible transcript excerpt shows Brennan welcoming Sanders back before turning to Hegseth, signaling that the interview was anchored in defense oversight and congressional scrutiny. CBS identified Sanders as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent, and the show described itself as a Sunday interview program moderated by Brennan.

Sanders' placement in the hour also put him alongside two figures with sharply different institutional roles: Kennedy as a Senate Republican and Waltz as the U.S. representative to the United Nations. That mix is consistent with Brennan's format, which regularly brings elected lawmakers and national security officials into the same conversation about the country's political direction, including how Congress confronts the Pentagon and the administration's public line.