Rep. Jim Himes Discusses Key Issues on Face the Nation, March 29

Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, accused President Trump of fabricating claims about U.S.-Iran negotiations Sunday and called on an indicted Democratic colleague to resign following a historic ethics panel ruling — two confrontations that defined a wide-ranging appearance on CBS's Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.

Speaking from Greenwich, Himes told host Margaret Brennan that Trump was "flat-out lying" when the president announced the previous Sunday that his administration was negotiating with Tehran, with oil prices at $112 a barrel and stock futures down 2 percent. "Last Sunday, he realized, oh my God, I've got a financial cataclysm on Monday. So he just made it up that they're in negotiations with the Iranians," Himes said. Iran, he argued, has seized control of the Strait of Hormuz and exploited the crisis: gasoline prices have climbed more than $1 a gallon, leaving Tehran holding decisive leverage.

The interview's second major thread centered on Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, after a bipartisan House Ethics panel found her guilty of 25 violations. The verdict followed a rare public ethics hearing — the first since 2010 — that lasted more than six hours as lawmakers from both parties questioned Cherfilus-McCormick's counsel. Cherfilus-McCormick was indicted on charges of stealing federal relief funds and using them for her campaign; she denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.

When Brennan asked directly whether Cherfilus-McCormick should resign, Himes warned that a failure to step down would trigger a House floor vote with unpredictable results: "People will find reasons to support the congresswoman, just as Republicans found reasons to support George Santos." Santos, the New York Republican, was expelled from the House in December 2023 following an Ethics Committee investigation and federal fraud charges. Himes was signaling he feared history would repeat itself along party lines.

His resignation call came paired with a demand for institutional symmetry. "At a time when we're at war, when gas prices are too high, that shouldn't happen," Himes said. "So I would hope that my colleague might avoid that outcome by choosing to resign. But it is also very important that both parties be consistent in punishing ethical lapses inside their own teams."

The March 29 episode also featured White House border czar Tom Homan, former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, the former commander of U.S. Central Command, and Karim Sadjadpour, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Face the Nation 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.