The dinner was held at the U.S. Institute of Peace and included Paramount CEO David Ellison, CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, The New York Times reported, citing people informed of the gathering.
The dinner comes as the Justice Department reviews Paramount's proposed $111 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery. Warner Bros. shareholders signed off on the deal earlier this week, but it will not be finalized until the government approves. Such a summit between federal officials and corporate leaders on the cusp of a titanic transaction is considered rare, according to The New York Times.
Multiple unnamed CBS News reporters expressed shock at the dinner, fearing it may fuel perceptions of undue friendliness between the newsroom and the administration. Since Bari Weiss became editor-in-chief last year, she has faced accusations of tilting CBS News coverage to favor the administration. In early 2026, Weiss spiked a '60 Minutes' segment on a brutal Salvadoran prison where the administration sent deported immigrants. Weiss has said her editorial decisions are hers alone and that she has not been influenced by Ellison or the administration. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy expressed outrage on X, writing that Ellison and the information oligarchs should enjoy it while they can because when Democrats win power they will break these media conglomerates. Representatives for Paramount and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Independent.