Face the Nation (Dec. 7, 2025): Economy, ‘Trump Accounts,’ Minnesota Fraud Probe, Drug-Boat Strikes, and a Controversial Hepatitis B Vote

On Dec. 7, 2025, Margaret Brennan anchored Face the Nation from Washington, D.C., hosting exclusive interviews with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota), Representative Jim Himes (D-Connecticut), and former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb. The hour covered economic indicators and a new child savings initiative, a large welfare fraud investigation in Minnesota, a disputed U.S. naval strike near Venezuela, and a contentious change to newborn hepatitis B vaccine guidance.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent: Economy, Trade, Farmers and “Trump Accounts”

Secretary Bessent told Brennan the holiday season has held up better than many expected, citing recent quarters with roughly 4% GDP growth and projecting about 3% real GDP growth for the year despite congressional disruptions. He emphasized that inflation is mixed across sectors: the PCE (personal consumption expenditures) index was described as about 2.9%, while imported-goods inflation is lower (roughly 1.8%), and much of current price pressure is driven by services, not tariffs.

Bessent defended the administration’s steps to help U.S. agriculture after a trade accord with China: he said China will buy about 12.5 million metric tons of soybeans this year, with commitments that can rise to about 25 million metric tons annually over the next three years. He also confirmed short-term USDA “bridge” payments would be used to provide immediate relief to farmers while trade and financing measures take effect.

On a new signature policy, Bessent outlined the administration’s planned “Trump Accounts”: Treasury will seed tax-advantaged, diversified investment accounts with $1,000 for U.S.-citizen children born between 2025 and 2028. Funds can be accessed at age 18 or converted to long-term retirement vehicles, and foundations and philanthropists will be invited to top up accounts. The administration plans to release enrollment details in the coming weeks with an official kickoff next July.

Finally, Bessent described an ongoing federal investigation into a large Minnesota welfare fraud scheme first detected by IRS Criminal Investigations. He said investigators are tracing funds that moved through informal transfer systems and overseas, and that the probe remains active.

Representative Ilhan Omar: Community Impact, Donations, and Rhetoric From the White House

Rep. Omar responded to the treasury secretary by saying she returned campaign donations connected to people later implicated in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme and that she had previously urged investigations into fraud at the state program. She stressed the harm this scandal has inflicted on Minnesota taxpayers and potential program beneficiaries and insisted the Somali community is law-abiding and integral to the state.

Omar condemned President Trump’s repeated attacks on Somali immigrants and on her personally, calling the rhetoric dehumanizing and dangerous. She said the ICE arrests tied to the administration’s targeted enforcement have so far included individuals with prior removal orders and criminal convictions rather than newly undocumented migrants.

Representative Jim Himes: Calls To Release Classified Video of Drug-Boat Strikes

Rep. Jim Himes — who reviewed the classified version of a Sept. 2 video showing U.S. strikes on an alleged drug-running vessel near Venezuela — urged that the footage be released to the public. He described the video as "profoundly shaking," saying it showed people clinging to wreckage rather than clearly engaging in hostilities. Himes questioned the legal and ethical grounds for repeated strikes against low-level crew members, stressed there was no congressional authorization comparable to prior wartime AUMFs, and criticized shifting public explanations from Defense Department officials.

Himes said Admiral Bradley—whom he described as a person of integrity—provided candid briefings, but he expressed concern about civilian pressures placed on military leaders and the dangerous precedent of using full military force against crews that intelligence does not positively identify as high-value targets.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb: ACIP Vote To Delay Hepatitis B Birth Dose And Broader Vaccine-Policy Concerns

Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb weighed in on a high-profile public-health shift: the CDC’s advisory committee (ACIP) voted 8–3 to recommend delaying the routine newborn hepatitis B dose from within 24 hours after birth to the first dose at two months. Gottlieb emphasized why the birth dose matters: newborns infected at delivery face a roughly 90% risk of developing chronic hepatitis B, and chronic pediatric infections carry significant long-term mortality risks.

Gottlieb warned that relying solely on prenatal maternal screening is insufficient because test results can be missed and because testing is not universal or infallible; he cited modeling estimates that suggested hundreds to more than a thousand additional infant infections could occur in the first year under delayed-dose guidance. He also expressed alarm that the ACIP membership and HHS leadership choices have skewed the committee toward vaccine skepticism, and he cautioned that proposed FDA policy changes — including reducing reliance on immunobridging for updated vaccines — could slow the development and annual updating of strain-targeted vaccines.

What To Watch

• Whether the Department of Defense releases the September strike video and what legal implications follow.
• How Treasury and USDA implement farmer relief and the details of the “Trump Accounts” rollout.
• Outcomes of the Minnesota fraud and federal tracing of transferred funds.
• HHS/FDA follow-up on ACIP’s guidance, the public release of case-level safety analyses, and how states and insurers respond.

Program note: The episode also previewed Lesley Stahl’s upcoming 60 Minutes interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.