CBS names ‘Nation’ anchor

CBS News White House and senior foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan has been named anchor of “Face the Nation,” the network’s long-running Sunday affairs program.

The network announced Thursday that Brennan, 37, will take over the program this Sunday. She fills the chair vacated by John Dickerson, who took over for Charlie Rose as co-anchor of “CBS This Morning” last month.

Brennan is the second female anchor in the program’s 63-year history, following Lesley Stahl, who held the job from 1983 to 1991.

Brennan’s recent run of high-profile interviews for CBS News earned her kudos internally and helped her snare the job, according to one person at the network not authorized to comment on the matter publicly.

Last week, she landed a rare TV interview with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on “60 Minutes.” She also gained attention for a recent “Face the Nation” sit-down with retiring U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, who admitted to her that he was “a lousy politician.”

“Her curiosity extends from politics to business and financial markets, positioning her to moderate a conversation each Sunday on any topic consuming Washington and the world,” CBS News President David Rhodes said in an email announcing Brennan’s appointment to staffers on Thursday.

Brennan joined CBS News in 2012 as a Washington-based correspondent covering the State Department. She added the White House to her duties in 2017.

Brennan began her career as a producer for “Louis Rukeyser’s Wall Street” on CNBC.