weeknights on kpix 5 captioning sponsored by cbs >> brennan: it's sunday, february 10th. i'm margaret brennan, and this is "face the nation." breaking news this morning as virginia's embattled governor, ralph northam, sat down with gayle king for "cbs this morning." we'll have a preview. >> yes, i have thought about resigning, but i have also thought about what virginia needs right now. >> brennan: gayle's interview comes as the scandals involving the top three state elected fireworks in virginia near meltdown proportions. now virginia democrats are calling for lieutenant governor justin fairfax to quit following accusations of sexual misconduct and now rape as the governor, attorney general, and republican leader in the state senate struggle to deal with racially

insensitive photos from their past, we'll talk with two democrats from the virginia congressional delegation. jennifer weston and don buyer. then as the deadline nears to keep the government from shutting down again, what's the status of negotiations? we'll asa key conservative in the house, north carolina's mark meadows. all of that and the news of the week just ahead on "face the nation." good morning and welcome to "face the nation." we begin with the chaos in virginia's government and the scandals that have rocked the top three democrats in the m, lieutenant governor justin fairfax and attorney general mark herring. "cbs this morning" co-host gayle king has just returned from richmond, virginia, where she spoke to the governor in his

only television interview. >> i know this has been a very difficult week for you and the state of virginia, so where would you like to begin? >> it has been a difficult week. if you look at virginia's history, we're now at the 400-year anniversary, just 90 miles from here in 1619 the first indentured servants from africa landed on our shores in what we call now fort monroe. >> slavery. >> yes. while we have made a lot of progress in virginia, slavery has ended, schools have been desegregated, we have ended the jim crow laws, easier access to voting, it is abundantly clear that we still have a lot of work to do, and i really think this week raised the level of awareness in the commonwealth and in this country that we have not seen certainly in my lifetime. >> why do you think you still deserve this job when so many people are calling for you to step down? >> well, again, we have worked

very hard. we've had a good first year, and i'm a leader. i've been in some very difficult situations, life-and-death situations, taken care of sick children. >> because you're a doctor, yes. >> right now virginia needs someone that can heal. there's no better person to do that than a doctor. virginia also needs someone who is strong, who has empathy, who has courage, and who has a moral compass. and that's why i am not going anywhere. i have learned from. this i have a lot more to learn. but we near a unique opportunity now, again a 400-year anniversary of the history, whether bit good or bad in virginia to, really make some impactful changes. >> no slavery in thisostate. did you ever think about resigning when the drumbeat became so loud? and by the way they're still beating for you to step down. >> i don't live in a vacuum, so, yes, i have heard it. this has been a difficult week.

again, i'm fine. it's been mainly difficult for virginia and this country. so, yes, i have thawing -- thought about resigning, but i also thought about what virginia needs right. now i think i'm in a position where i can take virginia to the next level. it would be very positive. we have a number of inequities in this country right now and in virginia, and we're in a position to really stop talking so much and now to take action with policy to address a lot of these inequities. >> brennan: gayle, thank you for bringing us this interview. what did you make for the governor's explanation? >> the interview was at 7:00, we were in his ho he's on time. he's clearly very anguished by this whole situation. i know this is an attempted a bleeps] who is calling us, margaret? i didn't feel this was him

spinning a story. i think he's anguished and sincere. i think he's hoping once voters and viewers hear his story, they will consider calls for his resignation, that said, he's not planning to go anywhere. he feels he's in a very unique position to lead virginia to another way, and that this is actually, as painful as it is, a very good conversation for to all have. >> brennan: he thinks he can ride this out? >> i think he's hoping he. can he is not going to step down. i asked, under what circumstances would you step down? he didn't answer that question. he isn't thinking that. that's not what he wants. he doesn't think he should step down. >> brennan: what do you think in terms of national conversation? this is a state that has a long-troubled history with race. it was the capital of the confederacy. this has really resonated around the country. >> he's aware of that. i said, listen, in virginia you have one, two, three people involved in a very messy scandal all at the same time. what do you make of that?

he knows the optics aren't good. he said, but i'm concentrating on my battle and my fight. i want to figure out how can i turn this around. >> brennan: you continued your conversation with him. let's play that clip. >> let's talk about justin fairfax. >> yeah. >> in the beginning he did not call for your resignation. he said let the governor decide. i know the governor will make the right decision. now his story has also changed, as you know. two women have come out and accused him of sexual assault, sexual inappropriateness, and they have both said that if there is an impeachment hearing, that they will testify against him. where do you sit on how you feel about justin fairfax today? are you too calling for him to step down in. >> i can only imagine it must take tremendous courage for women to step forward and talk about these things. they are so hurtful and these accusations are very, very serious. they need to be taken seriously.

as you know, governor fairfax has called for an investigation. i really think where we are now, we need to get to the truth. the truth is important. and certainly if -- >> he too is calling for an investigation. >> he is. i support that. if these accusations are determined to be true, i don't think he's going to have any other option but to resign. >> brennan: at this time do you think he should resign? >> that's going to be a decision he needs to make. >> brennan: i know he needs to make it, but what do you think? >> again, i want the truth to come out. i certainly support an investigation, and again, these accusations are very serious. and we need to get to the bottom of them. >> brennan: no your attorney general is -- he also has some explaining to do about his use of blackface. he says it was halloween and he was dressed up as one of his favorite rappers, curtis blow. calls for him to resign, as well. >> uh-huh.

>> brennan: >> your thoughts about that? >> well, i know attorney general herring very well, as i do lieutenant governor fairfax. we have all grown. i don't know what the attorney general was thinking, what his perception was of race, of the use of blackface back then, but i can tell you that i am sure, just like me, he has grown, he has served virginia well, and he and i and justin, all three of us have fought for equality. and so again, i regret that our attorney general is in this position. this is a decision he's going to need to make. >> brennan: lots of decisions that need to be made. he has not spoken, i thought this was interesting, he has not spoken to justin fairfax since this second accusation came out. i said, why haven't the two of you communicated. he said, well, i'm dealing with what i'm dealing with. he's dealing with what he's dealing with, and i'm concentrating on this. i do know the wives have reached out the one another. i was told that today. but the two of them have not spoken. >> brennan: gayle, we've been

watching the rest of this interview on cbs this morning. thank you. >> well, we talk about the moon walk. we talked about his wife, we talked about how this all came about. i'll just say, margaret, we have a lot of interesting information that we'll have tomorrow on "cbs this morning." i know you're ready for me to go. >> brennan: gayle, we love that you're here. i want the get reaction to your interview. we have someone on set to do just, that democratic congresswoman jennifer wexton who represents northern virginia in congress. congresswoman, i know you know governor northam. >> i do. >> brennan: he campaigned for you. the contrition you heard, there is that enough for you to say he does not need to resign? >> it does not change my opinion that he needs to resign. >> why? >> because i don't believe he can effectively lead the commonwealth at this time. i understand he's feeling contrition, that he's feeling regret. but we need somebody who cannot only address the wrongs of past but take virginia into the future.

i think he's lost the confidence of the voters to do that. >> brennan: the "washington post" post had a poll out that said the majority of black residents say he should remain office. is that black public opinion persuasive to you at all? >> everybody is entitled to their opinion, that's persuasive, but remember, he won a vast majority of the black vote in his election. and we're in the talking about approval numbers. we're talking about people who feel the governor should step down immediately. so it's a very different situation. the fact is he's really lost the confidence of a lot of people he's supposed to be leading. >> brennan: what about the attorney general, herring, who also admitted to having appeared in blackface in the past. should he resign? >> well, his situation is eh situation on its merits. the attorney general came forward proactively. he's very regretful and contrite. he reached out to all the african mesh leaders and other leaders very heartfelt anguish

about what he had done. but he's got a lot of work to do to regain the trust of the people of virginia. >> brennan: so you're withholding judgment? >> i'm withholding judgment. >> can i ask you a question? am i still miced? >> brennan: i don't know, but what is your question? >> you said he lost the confidence. he realizes that. he wants the chance to regain the confidence? does he deserve that? he knows he lost everyone's confidence. >> brennan: he still needs to be able to govern. that's the problem. if he's spending the rest of his term apologizing and trying to preserve his own reputation and his legacy, he's not going to be an effective governor for the people of the commonwealth. i don't think the governor is that selfish at the end of the day. >> brennan: i want the make sure we also talk about the lieutenant governor, justin fairfax, because i know you have strong feelings about him, as well. he's made clear he's not going to resign. do you expect him to be

impeached? >> one member of the house of representatives says he intends to file articles of impeachment next week. that's decision my colleagues in the general assembly will make about how that plays out, but i expect the lieutenant governor will do the right thing for virginia and resign. >> brennan: senator warner and congressman scott have hedged their criticism saying "if true." is there a possibility that justin fairfax is unfairly accused here? >> he is the subject of two extremely credible corroborated accusations of serious sexual assault. that's the situation we're looking at right now. it seems highly unlikely that these women would come forward and subject themselves to this kind of abuse if these allegations were not factual. >> brennan: because i think a lot of people ask, where is the benchmark for you believing the accuser versus believing the lieutenant governor. and they apply that to various different cases, whether it was justice kavanaugh or their own personal experience.

for you, what is the benchmark? >> i don't know that i can say there is a particular benchmark. i judge every case and every complainant and every situation on its merits. you know, i was also a prosecutor. and this is not an issue where we need to prove something beyond a reasonable doubt. elected leaders need to be held to a higher standard and where there are credible corroborated allegations of serious sexual assault, we're talking about rape and forcible sodomy, this is something that impacts his ability to lead in the future. >> brennan: the democratic party has tried the stake out a moral high crude on issues of race and gender and sexual assault, do you think these stories, three democrats here? do you think this has damaged the party? >> i think our reaction to these stories shows how seriously we take these conduct of our elected officials. you know, the good news is democratic elected leadership, democratic leadership doesn't begin and end with the three men

serving in elected office in virginia right now, in statewide office. we have a vast numbers of really talented, diverse, hard-working, capable leaders who are able to step up and fill the void that will be left. >> brennan: congresswoman, thank you for joining us. gayle king, thank you for being here with us. when we come back, we'll talk with another virginia governor, now congressman john bayer, don't go away. what am i paying you to manage my money? it's racquetball time. ♪ carl, does your firm offer a satisfaction guarantee? like schwab does. guarantee? ♪ carl, can you remind me what you've invested my money in. it's complicated. are you asking enough questions about how your wealth is being managed? if not, talk to schwab. a modern approach to wealth management.

>> brennan: for more perspective we turn to don beyer. i'm sorry i muddled your name. there you heard the conversation we just had. do you agree? do you think the governor still needs to step down? >> i do, and i think that the great confusion last weekend where he wasn't sure whether he

was in the klan robe or the blackface has just sacrificed so much of his ability to lead. i know he's determined to go on this reconciliation tour, but i think he should do that as a private citizen rather than as the governor. >> brennan: you don't think because of this experience that he can now have the authority to reach out in a significant way on racial issues? >> well, i know that's what he wants to do, and i respect him. i know he wants to rehabilitate his reputation, and even his sense of what he calls his moral compass. but he sacrificed so much of his ability to govern effectively. you figure the legislative black caucus in richmond, the congressional black caucus on the hill, virtually every african american leader i know has said he needs to resign. the "post" poll we talked about before, 40% of black virginians think he shouldn't remain. that's a damning number for a democratic governor. >> brennan: the governor's a

peer of yours. do you think that the time, the place, the context of any of this should be considered in placing judgment on him? >> yes, it should. and i think that's one of the differences between governor northam and attorney general herring. they both made dumb mistakes as young men. governor herring, though, the attorney general rather, has been incredibly remorseful, very simple, took it very responsibly. the way governor northam handled it the first couple days was confusing even bizarre. and he's also in a different role. the attorney general runs the state's largest law firm, whereas the governor has to be the role model for more than bnnan: hoou just brought up, also admitted to having worn blackfaceñ point. if hes and say the calculus to not be as harsh on

the attorney general is influenced by that. >> but i don't think that's true. there are cynics that say this is about the next election. but i think it's much more about values, we would move from a progressive very strong attorney general to someone who is not just a republican, but someone who is on the arch conservative end of it. so the way our laws would be administrated in virginia would be completely different. this isn't about party politics as much as the kind of virginia we want. >> brennan: the lieutenant governor, justin fairfax, now two of the accusers have said they would publicly testify should there be impeachment proceedings. there was no formal investigation here. does one need to happen? >> i don't really know how that happens. maybe an impeachment proceeding does that. i know the attorney general has called for an f.b.i. investigation. that will happen. this whole notion of how do you adjudicate guilt here is very difficult. i believe both women. i see no reason why they would come forward.

they have nothing to gain. there's no lawsuit. there's no money involved. these were all documented some years back. it wasn't created overnight. and i believe the women. and i think if you believe the women, we have no call but to call for his resignation, no choice. >> brennan: all right. congressman, thank you very much for giving us your perspective. >> thank you, margaret. >> brennan: we'll be back with more "face the nation" in just a moment. is the search for a job that takes advantage of the skills you've gained while serving. you can now search with the phrase 'jobs for veterans' directly on google... ...and then enter your military occupational specialty code. google brings together job openings from across the web that match the skills you gained in your military role. just click to apply and use your experience to guide your future.

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mea they've met twice in almost two weeks now. >> brennan: and yet senator shelby was so optimistic after he met with the president this week. >> i heard that, and senator shelby is a very seasoned negotiator and certainly when you look at his conversations, you can draw some optimism from it. but i can tell you, based on my conversations with conferees and a number of rank-and-file, they're -- there are distinct differences. here's what i'm concerned about: border control came in to brief the conference. they gave their top-three priorities. and the conferees have said zero money for those top three priorities. how can you be serious about securing our border if the very people that are experts on securing it say these are our top three priorities, we need money, and yet they're saying zero dollars for that? i don't understand that. >> brennan: what is it thatyou t

your vote and that of your caucus? >> well, i think we need the make sure our border is secure, not just from a standpoint of strategic fencing or border slats, whatever you want to call it, but we need to make sure that once and for all we secure our boarder to make sure our communities are safe. >> brennan: that means explicit wording that says what? >> i think what it means is it says some amount of funding that gives border patrol section chiefs the ability to establish priorities, work with the administration on doing that, and secure part of the rio grande valley. when we look at some 30% to 40% of those who come here ill really, they come through one corridor that many times is left open. we need to secure it. that requires some type of physical barrier. and certainly we would support that. if that number is less than $5.7 billion, certainly everyone should be willing to compromise. i know i am, and we'll find that. >> brennan: $2 billion would be the compromise? >> i've heard that reported.

honestly, when you look at 0 to 5.7, somewhere in the middle would be a $2 billion to $3 billion range. but it's not as much just the dollar amount. it's the flexibility in how to spend it. i think what democrats are trying to do is say, you can said -- spend it here, you can't spend it there. really the experts should decide how we spend it. >> brennan: two of the senators involved in the negotiations were on fox today saying one of the sticking points is the number of ice agents. what is that? >> i think it's more detention beds. when we look at ice versus detention beds and what they're talking about is come across the border illegally, cutting down on the number of beds, which would actually force them being released into the united states, and so it's more of an open-border policy that some democrats have supported in the past, and i don't think t gog to brtyfact, i know that's this administration.

>> brennan: so we're just days away from running out of money. how does this end? do you expect the president to declare a national emergency? >> well, i do expect the president to take some kind of executive action, national emergency is certainly part of that.c there are a few other things in his toolbox that he could use. i do expect him to do that if we don't reach a compromise. and listen, we have about 24 hours to do that. at this point, they're going to need to look at some type of funding measure the make sure that we don't have a lapse, whether that's a clean c.r. for a short-term basis or a longer period going through the end of september. they need to make sure that they have something on the table and ready to be voted on in the senate where we can pass it in the house without a lapse in funding. >> brennan: congressman, you and your fellow republican colleague were incredibly critical of the last government when they used executive action to bypass the will of congress. how can you support that? >> i have been.

i would reach out to my democrat colleagues. if once and for all you're warranting to work in bipartisan manner to return the power back to congress, i'm willing, i'm willing to do that even now with this president, with our president's party in the white house, i'm willing to do that, but until we do that, why should we allow a democrat president in the white house to use executive orders and not do the same with a republican president? i've put forth measures that would actually eliminate some of the executive branch power. you know philosophically that's where i am, and yet at this point, we have a crisis. we have a crisis with a need to secure the border that we have to do. and this president is going to build a wall one way or another. >> brennan: congressman, thank you for giving us your perspective. we'll be right back with a lot more "face the nation." a way to create energy from household trash.

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