Roger Carstens, the White House special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, speaks to “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” from Jordan after he traveled to Syria to seek information on Austin Tice. While in Syria, he said he was “stunned” by the number of prisons that were operating under the Assad regime, making it that much harder to find Tice. Source

The following is a transcript of an interview with Rep. French Hill, Republican of Arkansas on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Dec. 22, 2024. Source

The following is a transcript of an interview with Rep. Tony Gonzales, Republican of Texas, on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Dec. 22, 2024. Source

Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a former Democrat turned independent who is retiring in January, tells “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that despite the incoming Republican majority in the Senate, he believes both parties are “not going to let the filibuster blow apart.” Manchin supports keeping the filibuster in place, despite having backed reconciliation for the Inflation Reduction Act, a key Biden administration bill. Source

GOP Rep. French Hill of Arkansas tells “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that despite 34 Republicans voting against Speaker Mike Johnson’s own continuing resolution to fund the government, he believes his party in both Houses of Congress are “united” behind President-elect Donald Trump’s border and energy agenda. Source

Biden administration Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas tells “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that the White House turned to Congress for a solution to the immigration surge, but “looking back now in hindsight, in 2020 if we had known that irresponsible politics would have killed what was clearly a meritorious effort and a meritorious result, perhaps we would have taken executive action more rapidly.” Source

Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas tells “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that the chaos that followed Elon Musk’s intervention after a deal had been reached to avert a government shutdown makes it feel “as if Elon Musk is our prime minister,” despite that Musk is not an elected official. Source

This week on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” a deal was finally reached to fund the government, but was last week’s Capitol Hill chaos preview of what’s to come in 2025? Reps. Tony Gonzales and French Hill join to discuss. Plus, exit interviews with Sen. Joe Manchin and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Source

Watch Margaret Brennan’s full interview with Roger Carstens, the Biden administration’s special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, a portion of which aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Dec. 22, 2024. Source

Record holiday travel is expected in the U.S. this year, with the weekend before Christmas projected to be one of the busiest times for transit. Source