CBS News is shaking up its policy regarding interviews on Face the Nation.
On Friday, September 5, the network announced that it will no longer edit taped interviews with guests. The change comes after Face the Nation was criticized for airing an edited-down, prerecorded interview with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“In response to audience feedback over the past week, we have implemented a new policy for greater transparency in our interviews,” CBS News told multiple outlets in a statement on Friday. “Face the Nation will now only broadcast live or live-to-tape interviews (subject to national security or legal restrictions). This extra measure means the television audience will see the full, unedited interview on CBS and we will continue our practice of posting full transcripts and the unedited video online.”
Following Noem’s appearance on Face the Nation late last month, the Department of Homeland Security accused the interview of being “selectively edited” after select comments she made about Kilmar Abrego Garcia — a Salvadoran man facing deportation by the Trump administration — were cut from the broadcast.
“This morning, I joined CBS to report the facts about Kilmar Abrego Garcia,” Noem said in a Sunday, August 31, statement released by The Department of Homeland Security. “Instead, CBS shamefully edited the interview to whitewash the truth about this MS-13 gang member and the threat he poses to American public safety.”
This morning, I joined CBS to report the facts about Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Instead, CBS shamefully edited the interview to whitewash the truth about this MS-13 gang member and the threat he poses to American public safety.
Watch for the part of my interview that @CBS tried to… pic.twitter.com/28fsGZug48
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) August 31, 2025
Noem later shared an edited and unedited clip from the interview via X, in which she listed several of Abrego Garcia’s alleged crimes.
“This individual was a known human smuggler, MS-13 gang member, an individual who was a wife beater, and someone who was, um, so perverted that he solicited nude photos from minors,” Noem stated. “And even his fellow human traffickers told him to knock it off. He was so sick in what he was doing and how he was treating small children. So, uh, he needs to never be in the United States of America and our administration is making sure we’re doing all that we can to bring him to justice.” (Abrego Garcia has not been charged with any crimes and has denied the claims against him.)
The show later released Noem’s full interview via YouTube. The version aired on the show rang in at a little over 12 minutes and 40 seconds, while the unedited version clocked in at around 16 minutes and 40 seconds. CBS News reportedly responded to the Department of Homeland Security’s criticism, stating that the interview was “edited for time and met all CBS News standards,” per The Hollywood Reporter.
CBS News’ interview policy changes come two months after the network’s parent company, Paramount, settled a $16 million lawsuit with President Donald Trump. He previously accused 60 Minutes of editing a 2024 interview featuring then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
The settlement was followed by Paramount’s $8.4 billion merger with the media company Skydance, which had to be approved by the Federal Communications Commission. As a part of the FCC approval, CBS News is set to implement an ombudsman to keep political bias in check.
Face the Nation, Sundays, 10:30am/9:30c, CBS News
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