CBS News Assigns Netanyahu Interview to Major Garrett, Bypassing Lesley Stahl

CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss has assigned an interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Major Garrett, the network's chief Washington correspondent, bypassing veteran '60 Minutes' correspondent Lesley Stahl.

Stahl had reportedly been pursuing the interview for months. The decision to assign Garrett, who is not part of the '60 Minutes' team, has led to internal tensions within CBS News.

This marks the second instance in recent months where Weiss has assigned high-profile interviews to Garrett over '60 Minutes' correspondents. In March, Garrett interviewed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, a segment that aired on '60 Minutes' despite Garrett not being a program correspondent.

A CBS News spokesperson stated, "It's the editor in chief's job to make decisions about bookings and interviews. Major is a world-class journalist and did a tough, fair, and newsmaking interview."

Weiss, who became editor-in-chief in October 2025, has faced internal resistance over her editorial decisions, including shelving a '60 Minutes' segment on El Salvador's CECOT prison.

The recent assignment of the Netanyahu interview to Garrett has intensified concerns among CBS News staff about Weiss's leadership and the direction of the network's news coverage.