Face the Nation lineup includes Himes, Bacon and AI panel

CBS News is sending a clear signal with Sunday’s “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan”: the next round of national debate is being built around intelligence, trade power and artificial intelligence. The June 7 lineup brings together Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California and Rye Barcott, co-founder and CEO of With Honor and author of “Courage Can Save US.”

Himes enters the broadcast as the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, a perch that gives his comments added weight as surveillance, cyber risk and national security remain central Washington concerns. Bacon, meanwhile, has been one of the network’s regular Republican voices on economic power and congressional authority, especially after he said there was “beginning support” in the House for legislation to claw back Congress’ authority over trade following President Trump’s broad global tariffs.

Bacon’s return to the program also extends a pattern of CBS using him to test bipartisan appetite for a break with party-line politics. He appeared on “Face the Nation” in November 2025 in a conversation with Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi as part of a House Problem Solvers Caucus segment, underscoring how often the broadcast turns to lawmakers who can speak to cross-party compromise even as the governing climate grows more polarized.

The inclusion of Ro Khanna and Rye Barcott broadens the discussion beyond congressional trench warfare. Khanna, a California Democrat, adds another voice from the party’s tech-forward wing, while Barcott brings a veterans and civic service perspective through With Honor, the organization he leads, and through his book on leadership and public service. Together, they suggest a program that will move between policy and principle rather than treating politics as a simple partisan argument.

The broadcast will also devote time to artificial intelligence, with a panel featuring Chris Krebs and Ben Buchanan. CBS identifies Krebs as a cybersecurity expert and analyst and a former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Buchanan, a former Biden special adviser for AI, brings the perspective of a recent White House policy insider. Their presence reflects how AI has moved from a niche technology story to a full-scale public policy fight over security, labor, regulation and democratic oversight.

“Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” airs on CBS News at 10:30 a.m. ET and streams on Paramount+ and CBSNews.com at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sundays. With lawmakers, veterans advocates and AI specialists all on the same hour, the show is sketching the agenda for a week where technology and power are likely to collide again in public view.