Full transcript of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Sept. 20, 2026

On this "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" broadcast, moderated by Margaret Brennan:

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And this week on Face the Nation: President Trump bars three major news organizations from covering the White House, as Republican concern over the impact of his policies continues to grow.

The countdown clock to the midterm elections continues to tick down, but the rest of the numbers affecting the economy continue to go up. We're now 200 days into the war with Iran, and gas prices remain high, with diesel prices at new record highs.

DONALD TRUMP (President of the United States): Actually, that's the war that's driving up the diesel prices, but it's all going to end very soon.

MARGARET BRENNAN: That's a promise that's wearing thin with some Republicans, especially in Iowa, where farmers are struggling and where two House Republicans in tight races voted last week to oppose the president's open-ended war in Iran.

Trump's deportation policy is an issue for Republicans in some districts. Florida Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar made a direct appeal to the president in a campaign ad.

REPRESENTATIVE MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR (R-Florida): The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We will talk with Congresswoman Salazar, California Democrat Ro Khanna, plus Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, and Trump's first-term economic adviser Gary Cohn.

Finally, we will hear another viewpoint in the debate over how to manage the fast-moving pace of artificial intelligence development, as our Jo Ling Kent spoke with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

We begin what could be a pivotal week for President Trump with respect to foreign policy, especially when it comes to the conflict with Iran, Russia's war with Ukraine and U.S.-China policy. He will head to New York for the annual U.N. General Assembly Monday, then host Chinese President Xi Jinping here in Washington later this week.

The energy shock from production and oil supply disruptions is intensifying, and we have seen assaults on Saudi Arabian infrastructure from Iran-affiliated forces. The struggle over control of the Strait of Hormuz continues, and, overnight, new attacks from Ukraine on a Russian energy facility as well.

With midterm Election Day now just 44 days away, that pressure over high gas prices is hitting the president and his party hard. All 435 seats in Congress are up on November 3. So, perhaps that explains why Speaker Mike Johnson sent the House home until mid-November.

We begin today with California Congressman Ro Khanna, who is the top Democrat on the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and he joins us from Fremont.