On this “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” broadcast, moderated by Margaret Brennan:
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio
- Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland
- Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates
- Bridget Brink, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine
- Ret. Gen. Stanley McChrystal
Click here to browse full transcripts from 2025 of “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m Margaret Brennan in Washington.
And this week on Face the Nation: President Trump is back from the Middle East and facing new headwinds on the domestic front, especially on the economy and working with Congress to fund his agenda.
The president’s whirlwind, deal-seeking trip to some of the moneyed parts of the Middle East may be over, but his efforts pushing for cease-fire deals in both Gaza and Ukraine are stepping up, as the fighting in both conflicts intensifies. We will speak with Secretary of State Marco Rubio exclusively.
Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen will preview the fight ahead in Congress over a spending package.
And we will get the world view from former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, plus former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and retired Army General Stanley McChrystal.
It’s all just ahead on Face the Nation.
Good morning, and welcome to Face the Nation.
The president is back and facing some new challenges on the domestic front, disarray in his party when it comes to agreement on budget priorities, a downgrading in our credit rating, and warnings of rising costs to consumers in light of his tariffs.
But we begin on the international front with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. We spoke to him Saturday while he was visiting Rome for Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass and asked about the outcome of the first talks between Russia and Ukraine in nearly three years. Those took place Friday in Turkey.
Vladimir Putin skipped the meeting that he himself had proposed and instead sent representatives. Ukraine’s top diplomat described it as an attempt by Russia to buy time and imitate a peace process.
(Begin VT)
MARCO RUBIO (U.S. Secretary of State): They were not a complete waste of time.
For example, there were 1,000 prisoners that are going to be exchanged. And that, from a humanitarian standpoint, is very positive. He explained to me that they are going to be preparing a document outlining their requirements for a cease-fire that would then lead to broader negotiations.
So, obviously, the Ukrainian side is going to be…
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