On October 26, 2025, the political temperature on CBS’s Face the Nation soared as House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries faced a barrage of pointed questions from host Margaret Brennan. The exchange, which quickly drew public scrutiny and ignited debate across media and social platforms, spotlighted the deepening divides over issues like election integrity, the ongoing government shutdown, and the future direction of American newsrooms.
Brennan began the interview by addressing the elephant in the room: Jeffries’s recent use of the phrase “rigged elections” in reference to the upcoming 2026 midterms. “You said, Democrats — there are no election deniers on our side of the aisle, you said that back in January,” Brennan pressed. “But recently, you’ve been using the term ‘rigged elections’ in reference to the upcoming midterms. Democrats were appalled when President Trump used language like that. How do you justify using that now?”
Jeffries, appearing from his Brooklyn district, explained his position. “I’ve been using that term in the context of Donald Trump’s unprecedented effort to gerrymander congressional maps in a partisan fashion all across the country in order to rig the midterm elections and deny the ability of the American people to actually decide who should be in the majority as it relates to the House of Representatives,” he said, drawing a sharp distinction between his use of the term and Trump’s broader claims of election fraud.
Brennan wasn’t finished. She countered, “Democrats are also going through gerrymandering and redistricting.” Jeffries pushed back, emphasizing that, “Democrats are going to push back aggressively to make sure that we have fair maps across the country, not partisan gerrymandering, which Republicans have initiated in state after state after state.”
The exchange, which aired live and was later widely circulated online, quickly became a flashpoint. Marc Elias, a well-known Democratic election lawyer and founder of Democracy Docket, took to Bluesky to criticize CBS’s handling of the interview. “CBS News is just the latest legacy news outlet to cast its lot with Trump. It settled a bogus case to please Trump, it canceled Colbert to please Trump, it hired Bari Weiss to please Trump. The number of media outlets really willing to stand up to Trump is dwindling. Support them with your loyalty,” Elias posted, reflecting growing concern among some Democrats about the network’s editorial direction.
Other users echoed similar sentiments, with one describing Brennan’s tone as “so unprofessional and condescending, especially from a supposed journalist,” and another lamenting, “And to think I always thought she was fair… more than others… Stressful aggression.” The intensity of the backlash underscored the heightened sensitivity around both the language of election legitimacy and the perceived impartiality of major news outlets heading into a fraught election cycle.
Underlying the controversy is a broader debate about the future of CBS News itself. The network recently appointed Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief, a move that has drawn both praise and skepticism. Some critics, including former newscaster Dan Rather, have questioned whether CBS can maintain its storied independence. Rather, writing on his Substack, was blunt: “It is also hard to believe Weiss will be an equitable steward of the storied news division in light of how the Ellisons acquired it.” He went further, arguing, “That deal and the hiring of Weiss signals to everyone, especially to the man in the Oval Office, that CBS is no longer independent, but under the tutelage of a conservative billionaire who is putting more than his thumb on the scale.” Rather’s lament was poignant: “It is a dark day in the halls of CBS News, where the portraits of television news pioneers once hung — Cronkite, Murrow, Sevareid, Collingwood. They were journalists who made television a trusted source of information. Whom and what are we to believe today?”
The editorial direction of CBS was also called into question after CBS Evening News failed to cover the high-profile presidential pardon of Changpeng Zhao on October 23, 2025, even as rival networks like ABC, NBC, and PBS led with the story. Zhao, who had pled guilty to money laundering charges in November 2024 and served four months in prison, was pardoned by the president—who reportedly has business ties to the Zhao family. According to TheWrap, an individual with knowledge of the situation confirmed that CBS Evening News Plus, a digital extension of the main broadcast, did feature the pardon at the top of their show. The story was also covered in a written piece, but the omission from the flagship broadcast raised eyebrows about editorial priorities under the new regime.
Beyond the media intrigue, Jeffries’s appearance on Face the Nation also addressed the ongoing government shutdown, which had entered its 26th day. Jeffries was adamant that Democrats were not playing politics with the shutdown, despite accusations from Treasury Secretary Bessent and questions about whether Democrats were gaining leverage from the standoff. Instead, he emphasized the real-world consequences: “Our focus continues to be on driving down the high cost of living for everyday Americans. Donald Trump and Republicans promised that they would lower costs on day one. We know costs haven’t gone down. They’re going up. Inflation is moving in the wrong direction. The Trump tariffs have made life more expensive for the American people to the tune of thousands of additional dollars per year.”
He went on to highlight the impact of the shutdown on federal workers and public services: “750,000 federal workers are on unpaid leave. Eighty percent of the folks who work on our nuclear program are included in that figure. The Agriculture Secretary said there will be delays in food stamps for many of the 41 million people who rely on SNAP. And then at airports across the country, half of the flight delays, according to the Transportation Secretary, are because of staffing shortages. This pain is real now.”
Jeffries also took the opportunity to underscore the stakes for healthcare, warning that without action to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits, “tens of millions of Americans are at risk of having their premiums explode, in some cases by 1000 to 2000 dollars per year.” He blamed Republicans for refusing to negotiate and for enacting “the largest cut to Medicaid in American history,” adding that there was a risk of a $536 billion cut to Medicare if Congress failed to act by year’s end.
The conversation eventually turned to the upcoming New York City mayoral race, where Jeffries recently endorsed Democratic Socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani at the last minute before early voting. Jeffries explained the timing as a function of his focus on the shutdown but said he backed Mamdani due to their shared commitment to tackling affordability and public safety. “Affordability is an issue for people all across the country,” he said, noting his support for retaining Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch for the sake of public safety, especially for the Jewish community.
Pressed on whether Democrats should adopt Mamdani’s progressive messages as a model for the party, Jeffries was clear: “No, what we’re going to mimic is our own views as it relates to the need to make life more affordable. Here in America, when you work hard and play by the rules, in this country, you should be able to live a comfortable life, live the good life, good paying job, good housing, good healthcare, good education for your children and a good retirement but far too many people are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck and can barely get by. That’s unacceptable in the wealthiest country in the history of the world.”
As the interview wrapped, the tensions between media scrutiny, political maneuvering, and the everyday realities facing Americans were laid bare. Whether CBS’s new editorial direction will continue to attract criticism, or whether politicians like Jeffries can bridge the divide between rhetoric and relief for ordinary citizens, remains to be seen. For now, the spotlight remains firmly fixed on both the nation’s newsrooms and its capital.
