‘CBS Evening News’ Launches Tony Dokoupil Era With Long Pete Hegseth Interview About Maduro Capture

The Tony Dokoupil era at “CBS Evening News” began with a lengthy interview with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Saturday, two days earlier than the new anchor was set to take the seat once occupied by Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather as the network scrambled to cover the U.S. military action in Venezuela.

It was Hegseth’s first-ever appearance on CBS, and his first since the raids. The interview was personally booked by CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss, a person with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap.

Dokoupil pressed Hegseth – whom CBS labeled “Secretary of Defense” in the lower third instead of the Trump administration’s preferred title – on the rationale for what he initially called a “daring raid.”

“I want to go back to the – excuse me [clearing his throat] – the rationale tonight, is it about freedom, or is it about oil?” Dokoupil asked. “At the press conference today, President Trump seemed to indicate that both were a factor.”

Hegseth suggested there were myriad reasons to conduct the operation, of which the U.S. Congress had no foreknowledge.

“Freedom, security, prosperity – of course what was done by Venezuela against American oil companies is well understood, and never should have happened and President Trump is willing to recapture that,” Hegseth answered. “It’s also the security of our hemisphere … and of course the drugs, and the cartels, the poisoning of Americans … all those combined together in this bold and courageous action by President Trump.”

Dokoupil gave his first report – technically a special edition – from a from a CBS owned-and-operated station out of San Francisco. He had been set to debut Monday as part of a new phase for the broadcast that included reporting from cities around the country, but the early start was triggered as President Trump announced U.S. military strikes against Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.

The official launch of “CBS Evening News” will take place Monday from New York. Dokoupil was expected to begin his tenure with reports from Miami before traveling to other U.S. locations in a venture dubbed “The Live From America Tour,” but that has been put on hold until later this week.

The broadcast launched amid heightened scrutiny of the network’s editorial direction. In an online message posted last week, Dokoupil said legacy news organizations have at times failed audiences by placing too much emphasis on advocates, academics and elites rather than the average American. CBS also recently released a statement outlining new editorial principles.

CBS News is in the early stages of a broader restructuring under Weiss. Weiss has introduced newsroom-wide meetings, public debates and internal critiques of traditional media practices. Her leadership has drawn increased attention following reports that a completed and vetted “60 Minutes” segment was delayed.

Dokoupil joined CBS News in 2016 and most recently served as a co-host of “CBS Mornings.”

Corbin Bolies contributed to this report.

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