Who Is VP Debate Moderator Margaret Brennan? Everything We Know

The first (and likely only) debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump has come and gone, but their vice presidential picks are gearing up for their turn at bat. However, no debate can be successful without capable, confident moderators, and this year's VP debate features two CBS News correspondents: Margaret Brennan and Norah O'Donnell. O'Donnell is likely a familiar face for anyone who has watched CBS Evening News, but Brennan has also built an impressive journalistic career spanning two decades.

According to the University of Virginia Miller Center, alumni Brennan graduated with distinction, earning a degree in Middle East studies with a minor in Arabic. Given her choice of major, it's no surprise that she has frequently covered topics related to this sometimes tumultuous part of the world. However, there's plenty of variety in her career history, and she's proven time and again that she has the chops to tackle tough interviews. Here, we'll break down everything we know about this talented correspondent and her career.

Although Margaret Brennan is clearly at home in the CBS Washington bureau, her early years as a journalist saw her covering a very different topic: business-related news. According to Business Insider, Brennan got her post-college start as a research assistant for Louis Rukeyser, a CNBC financial journalist. Over time, she became a producer for his show, "Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street." After her time as a CNBC producer, Brennan moved from behind the scenes to in front of the camera: she became a correspondent for Bloomberg, covering both domestic and international market developments. She also hosted "In Business with Margaret Brennan," a show on Bloomberg Television. 

It may seem strange for Brennan's focus to have shifted so dramatically after a decade in the economic news sector. However, the move to politics seems like a natural progression, given Brennan's view of how economics and politics are intertwined. As she explained to Virginia Magazine in 2010, "Particularly now, you can't separate economic policy from political change. They're all connected." 

Although JD Vance has had some weird moments in his VP bid, former political opponent Tim Ryan said (via The Columbus Dispatch) that Kamala Harris' running mate Tim Walz will have his work cut out for him going toe-to-toe with the Republican hopeful. "He's able to semi-articulate some kind of intellectual underpinnings of Donald Trump's rants. He's very smart. I don't think there's any doubt about that," he said. With that in mind, the 2024 VP debate will be an interesting battle of wits, but Margaret Brennan's experience at the helm of CBS's "Face the Nation" will likely be an invaluable asset in keeping the conversation focused and productive. 

Brennan moderates the long-running series, sitting down with politicians and policymakers on both sides of the aisle to discuss pertinent issues. However, "Face the Nation" isn't her only experience interviewing politicians. For example, according to U.S. Department of State records, she interviewed then-Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in 2012. The interview focused on the infamous U.S. Consulate attack in Benghazi, and Brennan was among the first journalists to speak with Clinton about this incident. 

Perhaps most importantly, the VP debate won't be the first time Brennan grills Vance on tough political issues; in a September 2024 "Face the Nation" clip (via Instagram), the journalist asked Vance about controversial claims he made about Haitian residents of Springfield, Ohio. In the clip, she deftly handles Vance's comments, presenting him with clear facts and redirecting his attempts to avoid giving a straight answer. Her performance in this interview suggests that she'll be up to the task for this year's VP debate.