♪ >> brennan: welcome back to "face the nation." i want to go to former white house counsel don mcgahn, who joins us from maryland. thank you for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> brennan: sure. you know amy coney barrett, you vetted her and put her on the list of judges in the first place that was considered by president trump. but he passed her over last time and went with brett kavanaugh. what gave you pause then, and are you certain she will be confirmed this time? >> i think the president's made the announcement. [audio breaking up] >> she clerked for scalia, and i think she is a fantastic judge. there is no reason why the

senate shouldn't confirm her. i think she will continue on to the supreme court. >> brennan: but what gave pause last time? sometimes it is hard to predict how judges are going to actually rule on individual cases. but is there something we should be scrutinizing here in terms of her stance? democrats are assuming she is against affordable care act and against roe vs. wade. are those fair as assumptions? >> i don't think those are fair at assumptions. i remember being a very young law student hearing this about robert gore and clarence thomas, and almost every justice nominated by a republican. what you can guarantee is they're going to approach the task of judging as a judgment they're not going to substitute their own policy views for the will of the people. they're going to read the law as passed by congress and is found in the

constitution, not based upon what they think it ought to be, but what it is. i disagree there is any hesitancy or pause the last time. she was a relatively new federal judge. she was placed on a short list. the public found out about the short list, and the president, even as a candidate put out not one, but two, lists of judges who could be on the supreme court. so i think that at the time brett kavanaugh was the right person at the right time. and i think judge amy coney barrett is the right person at the right time now. >> brennan: why is senator mcconnell rushing this through now. some people are speculating because he thinks trump might lose or republicans want her vote there as the debate over obamacare begins. why rush it? >> i disagree it is being rushed. it is not only regular order, when one goes back into history -- >> brennan: it is a pretty short timeline.

>> brighter went through 12 days start to finish. john paul stevens went through 16 days start to finish. sandra day o'connor went through 30 days, and ruth bader ginsburg went through 42 days start to finish. >> brennan: you don't think it is about the election? >> well, i certainly think that there is an imminent election, and obviously everyone is talking about the election. but when a president makes a nomination, he is obligated to do so. and this has happened 29 times in history, where there has been an election year nominee. it has happened before and it will probably happen again. even justice kennedy, who many hold up as a model justice, was confirmed and appointed in 1988. so this deal that somehow this is out of the norm simply doesn't ring true.

>> brennan: when you were at the white house, this was your project. and looking at pew -- >> one of many. >> brennan: one of many, fair. but president trump -- we'll get to that. but president trump has appointed more federal appeals court judges to date than any other recent president. he is not sitting around reading legal briefs. there was a list put in front of him of possible choices. you've been working with mitch mcconnell to have it be a conveyor belt, but do you worry that that kind of turn and this process, can undermine faith that the court is above the political fray? >> well, the court ought to be above the political fray. that's the point of the court. we have three equal branches, and the court is supposed to be removed from it. one is the confirmation process. the president can't simply pick. but i think if you look at

the judges president trump has put on the bench, it is going to go down in history as a monumental achievement of his presidency. he has put a number of judges on that are imminently qualified, did well in school, and they clerked with circuit judges -- >> brennan: it's your list. i know you like it. >> pardon? > >> brennan: it is your list. i know you like it. so, the bigger picture -- >> it doesn't change the credentials, though. >> brennan: i'm not saying that. >> and they are fantastic justices. there is really no arguing with the merit of these nominees. >> brennan: you're name appears in the mueller report 529 times. >> and ai amy coney barrett's name appears no times. >> brennan: i understand. given the challenges with the law and his obligation under the constitution that the law be faithfully

executed, do you think there is a contradiction here? do you think he deserves four more years in the office? >> i think he does. he has done wonderful things with the economy -- >> brennan: you will vote for him. >> he set a record number of judges on the courts. since the 2016 election, he has made this a critical issue. he was very transparent on it and ran on it. it really helped in the 2016 election. and there has been an intervening election and two court nominees, and those who supported trump's judicial nominations did really well in the elections. >> brennan: i'm going to take that as a yes from you that you're voting for him again. all right, don mcgahn, thank you this morning for your insight. we'll be right back.

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back with dr. scott gottlieb got, who joins us from westport, connecticut. good morning to you. >> doctor: good morning. >> brennan: last sunday you said there are 30 states where there is an expanding epidemic. we spoke to the white house chief-of-staff this morning and pointed out to him that hospitalizations are no longer declining. what do we need to be prepared for? what does this trend indicate? >> doctor: well, i think there is still a question whether or not this is the beginning of an up-surge heading into the fall and winter. clearly we've seen a rise in cases across the country right now. hospitalizations, as you said, they were declining and they're no longer declining. there is some indication they're starting to rise. whether this is a start of a persistent trend heading into the fall and winter or a temporary up-surge is unclear. i think there is a lot of concern we could start to see a real up-surge, and this is a continuation of a broader trend on the way as we head into the colder months. we were always facing hide

heightened as we head into the fall and winter. we're taking a lot of infection into a very season in this virus. >> brennan: the chief talked about drawing into question their revision to guidance, but said it will be forthcoming on the vaccine. what did you interpret his comments to mean? >> doctor: well, look. i don't think this guidance represented a revision in the agency standards or any kind of higher bar. what this was was an articulation of the principles and standards the f.d.a. has been using for a long time and communicating to the companies developing vaccines. so they are, in fact, beingfield. i'm on the board of pfizer, but i talked to a lot of the other clinical developments and leads. i think there was widespread agreement that these principles, as they were discussed in the press, were mostly in line

with everyone's expectations. whether or not the agency issues the guide tans, i think this is going to be the basis for which they make decisions. i would prefer they're able to issue the guidance in it's entirety because it would provide more transparency, but whether they release it or they don't, i think these are going to be the principles that govern that process. >> brennan: what should we expect from a vaccine? dr. fauci said it won't be 100% affective. what can americans expect? >> doctor: look, wep we don't know yet. we don't have the data yet. we have major trails under way. j & j announced a trial with 60,000 patients. so we should wait and see what the data shows. the information is it wll, for certain people, full immunity, but for the people, maybe it will

lessen the severity of covid if they attract the infection, but it will not provide what we call sterile immunity. there will be some people who still get infected with covid. it could be that the vaccines prove to be much more affective than we expect. it could be that the vaccines prove to be a lot less affective than we expect. that should be the base expectation of individuals. >> brennan: do you agree with the c.d.c. director that 90% of americans remain susceptible to this virus? >> doctor: that's what the data shows. the c.d.c. has some data they've developed looking al antibodies across the country, being done by lab corp and quest. and they're deriving some of that information from the very large project they've undertaken. but other studies seem to indicate about the same thing, about 10% of americans have been exposed to this virus. the best modeling i've

seen suggesting a higher rate of exposure, expect about 15%, but most of the models say 10%. >> brennan: and i asked you that because one of the members of the task force, dr. scott atlas, directly disputed the c.d.c. director. i wanted to be on the record clarifying that. there have been a lot of reports out there even if you get covid and you survive, that you have related health problems afterwards. what do we know at this point what the impact of the virus is? >> doctor: we don't know the full impact of the virus. what we're seeing in various steadies is there are some long-term conditions related to the virus. we don't understand what the relationship is to the virus. it does seem to trigger in certain people some kind of autoimmune type of phenomena. and when you're infecting so many people with the vrus, as we are, even a small percentage of

patients having some persistent conditions ends up being a lot of people. there is more evidence that this syndrome hasn't been fully characterized, but there is enough evidence to show they're having long-term conditions from the infection. >> brennan: dr. gottlieb, thank you. the airline industry is one of the hardest hit industries due to the coronavirus. and we want to go to the c.e.o. of american airlines, doug parker, from texas. >> good morning, margaret. >> brennan: you announced friday you came to terms with the u.s. treasury for a $5.5 billion loan. how long will this money last, and does it mean you won't have to carry out the 19,000 fur lowg,000 fur furd job cuts you predicted? >> we have plenty of liquidity. that loan is part of the

cares act from back in march. it provided $25 billion of loans to airlines, and that loan you're talking about is just the closing of our prorated share of that loan. and it provided $20 billion of payroll support, a pass through to the airlines to pay our people, even though we didn't have full work for them, to keep airlines moving, to keep the country moving. both of those things are really important. the loan program is complete. the payroll support program, unfortunately, expires on october 1st. back in march we all thought demand would be back and we wouldn't need support beyond this time. unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. so on october 1st, that program, ab sep absent being extended, and there will are 100,000 aviation professionals who will be out of work. >> brennan: to be clear, your plan is still this week to layoff or furlough

19,000 people? >> our plan, actually, is to get congress and the administration to come together and get a coronavirus relief package passed. >> brennan: do you have any reason to believe that is going to happen? >> there is enormous bipartisan support for it. we have republicans, democrats, the administration, all saying and knowing this is the right program that it makes sense, that, indeed, it should be extended because airline employees provide critical infrastructure. and once we furlough those employees, it is really hard, for example, to get pilots back in training. so once we've furloughed and s shrunk services, it will be severely hampered. we just need the bills to be laws. we need laws, not bills. >> brennan: but that's -- >> that's what we're trying to do. i'm confident we can get

it done. >> brennan: i'm glad your confident, because the hopes -- i mean, congress is completely stalled on this. did the white house give you an assurance that they will step in and give some kind of emergency aid to you if congress can't deliver by september 30th? >> well, the president said he is interested in doing an executive order if it makes sense. we think the better plan is to get legislation passed between now and then. there is certainly not much time left, but there is enough time. and, again, oftentimes a dadline like this is what is needed to get action. we're hoping that's the case. we're letting everyone know this is a real deadline. indeed, 100,000 aviation professionals will be out of work october 1st if we don't get people to come together. we've been told by all sides they're supportive of this, and it makes complete sense. we just need them to work to come together to do what is best for america and for our country, and certainly for the airline business. >> brennan: as you laid

out, it was taxpayers back in the spring that gave the $25 billion to help you make payroll. the bet at the time was that our health professionals would have everything under control by september 30th. and that is just clearly not the case. so what's -- how much money and for how long becomes the question here, right? how do you get costumers to fly again before there is a vaccine? >> well, we're seeing some increase, as costumers begin to return to the skies, understanding it is, indeed, safe to fly. so a vaccine, certainly, would be really helpful. in between there, having guarantees go away, having, you know, companies bring people back into the office, returning to work. those types of things have huge impact on the need for air travel. we saw at american -- our revenues were down some 85% the second quarter,

down about 75% in the third quarter, and that's better than most companies, but it is still down 65%. but having revenues down 65% nine months later is a big problem. >> brennan: i'm sorry. i'm out of time. good luck to you, sir. we'll be back in a moment. when you humble yourself under the mighty hand of god, in due time he will exalt you. hi, i'm joel osteen. i'm excited about being with you every week. i hope you'll tune in. you'll be inspired, you'll be encouraged. i'm looking forward to seeing you right here. you are fully loaded and completely equipped for the race that's been designed for you.

>> brennan: georgia has gone republican in the last seven elections. but this is 2020. cbs national correspondent mark strassmann reports. >> reporter: make georgia vote trump again, that's the president's struggle in a state reliably republican no more. this trump stump on friday pitched black voters. >> president trump: racial justice begins with joe biden's retirement from public life. what the hell do you have to lose. >> reporter: something, steven stalker says. >> democrats have never, ever done anything for us as a black people. >> reporter: some republicans strategists admit to win an election night, the president needs georgia to wear a maga hat. >> biden at least appears to be making some effort to unite people. >> reporter: according to our cbs news

battleground tracker, georgia is a toss-up, president trump just one point ahead. the big issues with a state with a roughly even split: covid, the covid economy, the supreme court, and a summer of unrest. >> we're not democrats that are burning down cities. >> reporter: for decades here, the late john lewis thundered about the importance of voting. turnout is critical for joe biden. on the front lines of atlanta's suburbs and among the 30% of georgia's registered voters, who are black. >> joe an uniquely understands. >> reporter: this campaign ad targets black turnout, but in this atlanta neighborhood, the motivation to get out to vote may be more about president trump. >> i have to vote for biden, just because we have to. >> reporter: why? >> to get trump out. >> reporter: voters are only somewhat confident their votes will be counted correctly. >> in person, i don't

trust in the mail. >> reporter: the third-party vendors trying to fix this. in toss-up georgia, this election is the most unsettled debate since sweet tea versus unsweet. mark strassmann, cbs news, atlanta. >> brennan: mark strassmann, thank you. >> the race is also close in nearby north carolina, which has gone to republicans the last two elections. former vice president biden is currently up two points there, with 48% support. president trump is at 46%. just how much of a factor is that supreme court battle becoming? cbs news elections and surveys director anthony salvanto is in west chester county, new york, with more on this findings. what have you find? >> reporter: voters tell us they feel like it has raised the stakes, which was already a high-stakes

election. let me show you this: a majority of voters in both these states feel like it has made the election even more important, especially democrats feeling that way, but now both parties tell us that they are motivated to vote. very high levels there. that's critical in an election that will probably all come down to turnout. but, let me remind everybody: don't forget about the economy. it still outranks the court in many other issues in both of these states. coronavirus also really important. and the reason that this is so critical, margaret, is that the president has a lead on who would be better at handling the economy in both of these states, and in many others we polled. in fact, across the board lately, we have seen a tightening of this race in state after state. >> brennan: anthony, we know republicans also want to hold on to their senate majority. do we have any indication on whether the fate of these senators in southern

states are directly tied to the president's? >> some of it is, margaret. let me start in south carolina, a reliably republican state, but here we find the incumbent senator lindsey graham is in a very tight race with jamie harrison. one reason is while republicans like the fact he is close to the president, moderates and independents feeling like he agrees with donald trump too much. and it is a similar story in north carolina, where tom tillis is down to cal cunningham. >> brennan: anthony, given a record number of people are expected to vote by mail, will we know how this race is headed before november 3rd? >>some of it will be in the bank, as they say, because so much -- in fact a majority of the votes will be cast before election day. if you look at two states here, starting with north carolina, look at how many

democrats over republicans say that they want to vote by mail or absentee, and then a sizeable number also are going to vote in person, early. i suspect when we get to election day, we'll be looking at whether or not republicans can turn out in large numbers on election day maybe to make up that deficit. the fact is that they've done it before in the past, and they say they're going to do it again. but one other wrinkle in this, margaret, is that republicans say they find navigating the voting process very easy in higher numbers than democrats do, in a race where you're going to have different kinds of voting, and that's going to be really important to what the turnout numbers ultimately become, margaret. >> brennan: i know, anthony, you'll keep us on this complicated process this election year. thank you very much. we'll be right back. we're striving to deliver a package

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>> brennan: that's >> brennan: that's it for us oday. for "face the nation" i'm margaret brennan. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

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battlelines drawn. republicans race to confirm supreme court nominee amy coney barrett. president trump predicting a quick victory. >> i ghiegts to be very hard to dispute her qualifications or anything about her. >> democrats fire back. >> we should not be barreling forward with this partisan nomination. >> first debate. trump versus biden one-on-one tuesday night in cleveland. will it shake up the race? battle ground georgia. is the peach state really in play? plus demands for zbluft the shooting can case of breonna taylor.