CBS News announced on Friday that it is changing its policy on interviews with top government officials on “Face the Nation” after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blasted the network for “shamefully” editing comments she made on last Sunday’s show.
CBS News initially defended its edits to the Noem interview, arguing that it “met all CBS News standards” and adding that the full interview and transcript were available online. On Friday, however, CBS News backtracked, saying that based on “audience feedback over the past week,” the network will “implement a new policy for greater transparency in our interviews,” The Hill reported.
“FACE THE NATION will now only broadcast live or live-to-tape interviews (subject to national security or legal restrictions),” CBS News said. “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.”
The network got into hot water after its edits to the Noem interview cut the Homeland Security secretary’s response short by 30 seconds when she was discussing the allegations against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal alien at the center of a high-profile U.S. immigration case, The Daily Wire previously reported. The part of Noem’s comments that CBS News cut out of the version that it aired on “Face The Nation” included Noem saying that Abrego Garcia “was a known human smuggler, an MS-13 gang member, an individual who was a wife beater, and someone who was so perverted that he solicited nude photos from minors.”
Abrego Garcia has denied all of those charges as he fights against the Trump administration’s plans to deport him to Uganda.
“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,” Noem posted to X on Sunday after the interview was aired. “Watch for the part of my interview that @CBS tried to cover up.”
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
The move by CBS News to change its interview format comes shortly after President Donald Trump secured a major victory over the network, as CBS agreed to settle a lawsuit with the president for $18 million over another editing scandal. Trump sued CBS after the network edited a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris to make one of her answers sound more favorable than it was.
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