captioning sponsored by cbs >> brennan: i'm margaret brennan. this week on "face the nation," new coronavirus cases decline in the u.s., but the death toll rises. congress and the white house fail to strike a deal, and the president decides to go it alone. >> the president of the united states. >> brennan: at his gulf club in new jersey, president trump attempted on saturday to bypass congress and claimed authority to extend economic relief, including jobless relief to help americans weather the pandemic. >> president trump: we've had it. and we're going to save american jobs and provide relief to the american workers. >> brennan: but those executive actions left more questions than answers, with the legality

and cost of his plans unclear. even the president acknowledged he could be challenged in court. >> you expect it to be tied up in the courts? >> president trump: if we get sued, it is somebody that doesn't want people to get money, okay? and that's not going to be a very popular thing. >> brennan: all of that comes after congress and the white house failed to agree on the latest covid emergency aid package. >> i told them, come back when you are ready to give us a higher number. >> brennan: to top it all off, the intelligence community issued a stark warning that foreign powers are interfering in the presidential race and picking favorites. our guests this week, in his first interview sin ro natio security advisor, robert o'brien. at the virus moves across the country, we'll hear from kansas city governor lucas. and former f.d.a. commissir.

gottlieb weighs n reopening old anchicagfed president says trouble is brewing if congress doesn't provide a way to provide more financial lifelines to americans. plus, joe biden spins his way closer to picking a vice president. >> mr. vice president, have you picked a running mate? >> i have. >> brennan: our latest tracker on how his pick will swing voters in two states. it's all ahead on "face the nation." acknowledgemen♪ >> brennan: good morning, and welcome to "face the nation." we're in the middle of a recession, and on the doorstep of an election. and millions of out of work americans have just had their unemployment benefits slashed. houshavethe power to provide the needed help, but this morning the country's top leaders are

nowhere closer to a deal on the next coronavirus aid package. nationwide the number of infections is decreasing, but so is testing. for the first time since early march, the number of people tested for the virus declined. and as cases drop in some areas, they increase in others. our coverage begins with cbs news national correspondent mark strassmann in atlanta. >> eviction denea day near houston. >> this isn't about us anymore. this... >> reporter: an eviction crisis looms. covid's next catastrophic ripple. over the next few months, as many as 40 million renters could be forced to move. the jobless have lost a lifeline. no more extra $600 a week from washington. >> they lose their jobs and they're not able to work, their ability to pay their bills goes away

pretty quick. >> reporter: new covid cases keep rising quickly in many states, from kansas city to boston all face new warnings from the white house. covid america can feel balkanized. new york city has checkpoints at major bridges and tunnels. visitors either quarantined for two weeks or face fines of up to $10,000. >> it also will spread the word to all new yorkers and all visitors that this is really, really serious. >> reporter: in covid-hoot floridahot florida, s gym owner was arrested for the third time. chicago is enforcing a mask mandate, up to $2400 fine for businesses that ignore it. >> this is a make or break moment for the state of illinois. >> reporter: health experts agree: more testing and faster results would help. but nationally testing dropped by roughly a half million in the last week. one big reason: the

backlog in testing labs. and common sense is always the wildcard. this is sturc sturges, south dakota, more harleys than masks at one of the biggest public gatherings 'sontagion began. but some good news: the c.d.c. now predicts deaths from the virus will actual decrease over the next few weeks. but for that to happen, we all have to fight off another epidemic: covid fatigue. margaret? >> brennan: mark strassmann, thank you. we go now to the white house, and robert o'brien, and this is his first interview since recovering from coronavirus. good afternoon to you, ambassador. we have just hit five million cases in this country. you are a lucky one. you've recovered. how are you feeling, and do you have after-effects? >> it is always great to be back on your show, but it is especially good to

be back now. look, i recovered fully, and i'm very grateful. i was blessed and had a light case. i want to thank the white house medical team and dr. seanr their great care while i suffered through this virus. and i also want to thank my colleagues, from the president to the vice president, everyone down who was so supportive of me personally. i hope that anyone else who is suffering from coronavirus and is away from work and quarantined has the same level of support from their colleagues at their office as i did from mine. it is great to be back. and i've been very blessed. >> brennan: yeah. >> but this is a tough thing. it is a nasty virus and it has done great damage to our country. my heart goes out to those who didn't make it. i was fortunate, but there are a lot of people who didn't make it and a lot of people suffering greatly. having been through this, my heart really goes out to them. >> brennan: not all

americans received the kind of elite care you were able to, unless you work in major league baseball or at the white house, you don't have access to regular asymptomatic testing. how long before the average american can get that? >> well, we're working otesting. and i think what has happened with testing in america is really a miracle. there is no country in the world that comes close to what america is doing on testing. but we're working on getting more testing out there. our great american companies are coming up with faster tests, more mobile tests. we need to get testing out there. >> brennan: we were supposed to be at five million tests a day at this point. we're not nearly at that. we're at five million infections as a country. >> well, we've had a lot of infections as a country. this is something we need to keep in mind. it came out of china, and the whole world has been fighting it. there have been maybe over a million people worldwide who have been killed as a result of this virus. we have to remember where it came from.

we're going to fight like heck. we're working hard on vaccines, working hard on testing machines that are portable and fast. we're working on therapeutics. i'm so impressed with our scientists and doctors and ers nd folks who are attacking this disease, and god bless them all. >> brennan: we know now that congress and the white house were unable to come to this agreement on more funding for things, including a boost to testing. we also, because there is no agreement, don't have that boost to election security funding that democrats were asking for. ambassador, this country has never voted in a pandemic. don't you need a boost to elections security for states across this country? don't you need more money before november? >> well, we're working on that with congress. ersatikiacelly a shamand you a e we have peoplt ing to be facing eviction, and the

president took executive action because congress wouldn't come forward to help people -- >> brennan: on election security, that was not actually included in these executive actions, are you saying you expect a bill to pass before november? >> well, i hope so. there is no administration that has done more for election security than this administration. remember the things that happened in 2016 and prior to that were under prior administrations. we've been putting hundreds of millions of dollars into election security. we've been running a policy coordination process for months and months and months on election security. we're working with d.h.a. and departments across the country. we want to maintain that free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. there are people overseas, ssiansand othersran who would like to interfere with our democracy. we're going to fight against that. we're going to harden our infrastructure and our cyber infrastructure.

>> brennan: the intelligence community issued this very sharp warning on friday detailing efforts to interfere. looking at the statement from july 24th, though, the language there says adversaries are trying to access candidates' private communications and election infrastructure. and that's at both the state and the federal networks. that sounds an awful lot like what russia did back in 2016, but now it is happening on your watch. so what are you doing to stop it? >> what we're doing is we have our cyber teams in place, and d.h.s. is working very hard to track down those malign actors -- >> brennan: is it russia again? >> we know it is china, we know it is russia -- >> brennan: tampering with election structure? >> trying to access website and that sort of thing and collect data on americans, and influence whether it is opti on tiktok

and other spaces. it is not just russia. the chinese don't want the china n aree-el in history, and we're against te che communist party and protecting our economies and protecting our vaccine data. there are a lot of people around the world who aren't happy with america because they don't share our values. and we're going to take every action necessary to keep folks out, whether it is china, russia, iran or others. >> brennan: in a statement that we saw on friday, the counterintelligence chief released this statement saying that china prefers president trump to lose, but it specifically referred to public em, pocy disagreements. are you here today saying that china is tampering with u.s. election infrastructure? >> well, they would like the president to lose, and china, like russia, like iran, have engaged in cyber attacks and phishing and that sort of thing

with respect to our election infrastructure, with respect to websites and that sort of thing. we're aware of it and we're taking steps to counter it, whether it ischinor. we're not going to put up with it. there will be severe consequences for anybody who tries to interfere with our election. if they prefer joe biden or donald trump, it doesn't matter. we are not going to have foreign countries deciding who our next president will be. >> brennan: the statement on friday, specifically to russia, detailed an active campaign to denigrate joe biden. that was the language used, denigrate former vice president joe biden. nk by-standers.d when president trump spoke to vladimir putin on july 23rd, did he tell him to knock this off? >> we told our counter-parts many, many sometimes not to get

involved -- >> brennan: but did president trump tell prieppepresident putin? >> what i don't get involved in, i don't get into the conversations that the president has with foreign heads of state, whether it is russia or france or the u.k. for that matter. those are private conversations. but i can tell you, we made it very clear to the russians, very clear -- no administration has been tougher on the russians. we've sanctioned hundreds of russian entities -- >> brennan: but they're doing it again, so the message truly wasn't received. did president say to vladimir putin, knock it off. >> we put so many sanctions on the russians, by the way, therir nido. we sanctioned the heck out of the russians. we've kicked out literally scores of russian spies. we closed down all of their consulates on the west coast. we closed down diplomatic facilities. there is not a lot left we can do.

but president trump continues to message to the russians, don't get involved with our elections. and that message is to the chinese and to iran as well. don't do it. all of these sanctions on russia happened under president trump. not under the obama-biden administration,. >> brennan: right, but the intelligence community is saying that the interference is also happening on president trump's watch. which is why i'm specifically asking you what are you doing to stop it? >> we've made it very clear to our adversaries, whether it is china or russia or iran, stay out of our election. we're taking steps across the board to harden our election infrastructure. under president trump, we've got a massive program running to keep our elections free and fair. i don't want foreign governments to influence our elections. the american people should

anabsolutely. ambassador o'brien, thank you. i'm glad you're back and feeling well. >> great to be with you, margaret. >> leslie >> brennan: and we'll be basketball in a moment with kansas mayor quinton lucas. some see a grilled cheese sandwich and ask, "why?" i see a new kitchen with a grill and ask, "why not?" i really need to start adding "less to cart" and "more to savings." sitting on this couch so long made me want to make some changes...starting

yeah, a house with a diffent wl help you. because at u.s. bank, our people are dedicated to turning your new inspiration into your next pursuit. >> brennan: we now go to kansas city, missouri, one of 10 years that the white house coronavirus task force is concerned about. mayor quinton lucas is in kansas city. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> brennan: i understand dr. deborah birx spoke to you and steady kansas city is a potential hot spot for rising infections, really looking at young people, 20 to 29, as rising in the infection rate. what is fueling this spread? >> mayor: well, we're seeing a lot of activity that has been against public health advice, not just p have congregated in bars and restaurants, but also informal spread, house

parties of up to hundreds of people, a lot of backyard parties, and a lot of folks in families and other informal settings that aren't following social distancing rules and aren't wearing masks, which has helped fuel it here and around the world. >> brennan: you bring things like capacity in bars down from 25% -- why haven't you done that? >> we're at 50% in our restaurants, and we have limited bars. one of the reasons we have not limited it entirely yet is because we don't want people going back out into the streets to celebrate. this is really kind of our summertime challenge. we have folks that are congregating in large groups already, presenting greater threats because all ofem have nt of e ating limg bars and restaurants to avoid some of the spikes you saw in houston,

phoenix, and the state of florida. >> brennan: so you may be doing this, even though there may be an economic hit that comes with it? >> mayor: we absolutely are. one of the challenges that the cities are having is we're surrounded by states that don't have things like mask orders and restaurant rules we have. so every rule we have, we're surrounded in the state of missouri and kansas, by a number of jurisdictions that lack it. we would like consistency from the white house to help make it clearer what we need to do to stop the spread highehere in the united . >> brennan: the white house is saying wearing a mask. on the letter you sent to the president this week, you were one of a number of mayors who asked specifically for more funding, $250 billion to be given to cities of all sizes. this is not in the executive orders that the president signed, and deals inco to be on hold. so how is your city going

to get the money it needs and at what cost do these cuts come? >> mayor: right now we're just not getting it. so you're seeing a lot of deficit spending from cities. and the impact is actually going to be to american workers, those who work for state, local counties, and governments. we're talking about furloughs. there have been layoffs -- >> brennan: are you going to have to layoffs? >> i believe we will. and this is hitting lots of employees. so this isn't just theatrical. these are issues that are significant and in the now. we're looking for a deal. when you talk about things like real unemployment benefit extensions, that's something that lots of kansas people are dealing with. we haven't seen that response from washington that is sorely needed here in the midwest. >> brennan: you have

delayed reopening of schools until after labor day. it doesn't sound like there will be a deal to give you that money. what does that mean for your school children? do you need to push back the school year even harder? incorporate tha>> mayor: that ia question i asked of dr. birx, and she deferred from answering that question. in many ways our school districts are trying to use the best advice possible. you've seen lots go to a mixed virtual environment, and some are going back to in-person, and you're seeing some covid outbreaks from that. we want to bide time so make sure we can have p.p.e.s, masks, and social distancing. we are not there yet, so i think we all have some grave concerns about reopening particularly at a time you're seeing spikes in this community. >> brennan: what were you looking for dr. birx

to tell you that she didn't? literally give you a green light it is safe or to give you a benchmark at which you could make a decision to open or close? >> mayor: i think a mix of both. first of all, benchmarks are always helpful. we asked for additional information, some written documentary information, that we could share with the public in places like kansas city. we did not receive that, though i did appreciate the call. i do think that frankly every parent, every teacher, everyone in america is saying, is it safe? i'm a lawyer by training, and i talked to health care professionals, but these are calls that sometimes mayors may not be equipped to make. we need to see what a direction broadly on schools is should be the guide for reopening schools, not just the different politics state to state and city to city, which is what we're seeing in my part of the country. >> brennan: very quickly, there is a 14-day backlog in testing in your city. how do you fix that?

>> mayor: money. we need more resources to get more testing, faster testing through. that's the biggest challenge, and we're going to continue to see this spread unless we get more testing officially for people. i think money and a solution out of washington is key for not just mine but all american cities. >> brennan: mr. mayor, thank you for your time this morning. we'll be right back with new numbers by our cbs battleground tracker. ♪ come on in, we're open.

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>> brennan: this morning we have a new poll that looks at the presidential race in pennsylvania and wisconsin. late on election night in 2016, it was these two states that put donald trump over the top and hiclinton. but today, former vice president biden is up by six points in both states. we asked cbs news elections and surveys director anthony salvanto what is putting biden in the lead there? >> well, it is concern about the president's

handling of covid tt is outweighing any edge he might have on handling the economy. there still still seems to be some goodwill about the president's handling of the economy. specifically things like manufacturing jobs returning rather than leaving, that was a key campaign promise. but when you look at the way the president has such negative ratings on handing covid, specifically parents' concern that their kids are going back to school, and schools they don't want to reopen fully, and they feel like the administration is pressuring for that, and feeling like the administration is not doing enough to combat the virus, and that is more closely associated with vote than any views on the economy. you see specifically the feeling that joe biden would do a better job handling the outbreak, and then the feeling that joe biden is more attuned to the needs and concerns of a lot of these voters. so biden is swinging a lot

of voters, independents who voted for donald trump the last time. and when you look at what has changed since 2016, mention, donald trump won these states based on a lot of voters who were looking for change. when they look back now, they tell us this is not necessarily what they expected. in fact, more say that things have gone worse than things have gone better, and that is kind of your classic voting calculus right now, margaret. >> brennan: and since we expect former vice president joe biden to announce his running mate sometime this week, our battleground tracker sur vidsurveyed how important that is to voters. 44% in wisconsin said biden's choice for vice president is important for them. it is even more so for tose who say they're currently notvoting for biden but could consider him. for more analysis from anthony and further

results, go to cbsnews/polls. cbsnews/polls. we'll be right back. and other money managers don't understand why. obligated to put clients first. so, what do you provide? cookie cutter portfolios? nope. we tailor portfolios to our client's needs. but you do sell investments that earn you high commissions, right? we don't have those. so, what's in it for you? our fees are structured so we do better when you do better. at fisher investments we're clearly different. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ cranky-pated: a bad mood related to a sluggish gut. miralax is different.ite o tonblockour gut.fr >> brennan: we'll be right back with cbs news correspondent adrianna diaz, who takes a look at what it is like going back to school during a pandemic. stay with us.

♪ >> brennan: schools are beginning to reopen around the country, and despite efforts to socially distance students, states returning to the classroom are already reporting coronavirus cases. cbs news correspondent adrianna diaz is in chicago, where earlier this week, that city's mayor said in-person learning is two risky for public schools. >> reporter: for schools reopening tomorrow, the routine morning drop off will be masked by something new. >> you have to find the right one to breathe right. >> reporter: face coverings are required in enterprise, alabama, and they will be mandatory in

new york city schools, which got the approval to split thech