>> brennan: welcome back to "face the nation." and to our conversation with pennsylvania republican senator pat toomey. senator, just a moment ago you were saying, rightfully, that it is well within the president's team's legal right to raise questions or to ask for recounts. but there is a whole lot of noise being made by a lot of presidential allies, who are alleging far more than that, using terms like "fraud," "rigged." in fact, lindsey graham saying he is asking the justice department to investigate claims here. there are nine g.o.p. congressmen from your state who are questioning the integrity of your

election officials. isn't this damaging, over all, to our democracy? >> senator: every election has some irregularities. we've had some in pennsylvania in the past, and we've had some in pennsylvania this time. they should be adjudicated. if people have seen, if there is evidence of fraud or wrong-doing, by all means, go into a federal court, get it corrected, punish the wrong doers and do what we need to do. apparently there are going to be a lot of lawsuits tomorrow. we'll see the evidence and see what the allegations are. i have confidence in our federal judiciary to make the right decisions about them, and then we'll be able to wrap this up and move on. >> brennan: to be clear, you have seen none of the evidence that the lawyers say they have about your state? >> senator: to be clear, for instance, there are some problems that need to be solved. for instance, in pennsylvania, unfortunately, we have a rogue state supreme court that violated the u.s.

constitution and violated pennsylvania law by declaring that ballots arriving at the election day can be counted, even though our statue forbidden that. those ballots -- >> brennan: those ballots have been segregated. >> senator: then -- okay. so i think the number is probably not big enough to determine the outcome of the election. but observe jers in observers in philadelphia have not been able to get close enough to understand how that segregation has occurred. as i say, i don't think it will be nearly a large enough scale to change the outcome of the election, but it is understandable that people would want that corrected. and we should, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is future elections. >> brennan: broadly, i want to know what you think the message from this election was, that the republican party has remade itself as the party of trump. do you believe that is still the mandate? >> i will tell you

unambiguously this was a rejection of the radicalism that has increasingly been the driving force in the democratic party. the woke left had a major setback. nobody thought we would pick up seats in the house, nobody thought we are going to hold the senate, which i think is likely. we didn't lose a single legislature body across the country -- >>brennan: but the president also didn't take your state? >> senator: that's right. there is no question that personality traits and character traits of the president rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. and that was probably problematic for the president. but, you know, the outcomes -- this administration has been remarkably successful with economic outcomes, with foreign policy. so i think the policies have been accepted. and the broad republican victories down ballots suggest that. >> brennan: all right. senator toomey, thank you we want to take a closer

look at some of the legal questions the president's team is raising with cbs news contributor and election law expert david becker. good morning to you. >> good morning, margaret. >> brennan: you just heard the senator's description of what is going on in his state. what is your reaction? >> right now president-elect joe biden leads by the margin, and the margin is likely to grow. it is around 41,000 and it is likely to grow. so it is very unlikely there will be an automatic recount in pennsylvania. he is also right that the election over all was very good for republicans. they did very well nationwide. they held the senate and did very well in state legislative races. so any baseless accusations that the -- i think in pennsylvania there are some claims regarding observers that are false. we know that observers for the trump campaign and the

republican party were present in the counting rooms at all times. they could see everything that was going on -- >> brennan: there is actually a live camera. >> there are 24/7 live stream. there is extensive evidence of this. and as you noted, the ballots that arrived after election day have not been counted yet, not been reported. all of the ballots we're seeing right now, the vote counts in pennsylvania, they all reflect ballots that were received on election day or earlier. so those small number of ballots, perhaps 8500 of them, that have been segregated, they have not been counted or reported out yet. if you're behind, as president trump is right now in pennsylvania, it is unusual that you're not asking for those ballots to be counted because you might need more ballots to narrow the margin. >> brennan: can you help us make sense of what the trump strategy may be here? our reporter, nicole, spoke to some members of the trump team and the strategy was described to her as planning to win the

georgia recount and point out irregularities in wisconsin. it still doesn't get you 270 electoral votes. >> it is very hard to determine a coherent strategy here. in arizona, you see them arguing to count more votes, in pennsylvania they're saying stop the counter. in wisconsin, the margin of victory for president-elect biden is about the same at president trump's manager in 2016. it is very, very unusual, and there is no precedent in american history for thousands of votes to be overturned in a statewide race. >> brennan: am i hearing you say this is more of a p.r. strategy than a legal one? >> that's what it appears to be. if you look at florida 2000, three members of the team on the republican side are sitting on the supreme court. and they went dont and down and collected facts for weeks. what we're seeing now is crazy allegations being thrown out on twitter and elsewhere.

when it goes to court, they fall apart. there is nothing there. thy've been losing every case that has been brought post-election, the trump campaign has. it appears it might be more of a p.r. stunt than an actual cohesive legal theory. >> brennan: to be fair to those, because there are some big names involved in this, senator lindsey graham, says he has a sworn af daif affidavit fm a postal worker in pennsylvania, and rudy giuliani also claims he has affidavits. can people just lie and get away with it, or is this actual evidence that needs to be considered. >> this is why we actually go to court and require proof. and every time they have brought this proof to court, that proof has fallen apart and failed -- >> brennan: you're talking about a landscaping company because that's where the philadelphia press was held yesterday -- >> that's right. you can say whatever you

want on twitter or at a press conference, but ultimately you have to prove these allegations in court, and ultimately allegations have failed. >> brennan: are any of these significant? they're also raising money, they say, for a recount in wisconsin? >> i think the recount strategy is likely to fail because the margins are just too great. the margin is growing in georgia. it is over 10,000 now. the other litigation really doesn't have a strategy. whether it is the sharpie pens in arizona or observe jers iobservers in pennsylvania, we're not seeing much there. so i think it is unlikely. >> brennan: one thing i didn't get to with the senator is this really troubling incident in pennsylvania. there were heavily armed men arrested outside. you know a lot of these election workers. how concerned are they for their safest?

>> they're very concern. these are people who have been away from their families for days. one of them his son had a birthday and he had to miss it. they are getting death threats. and then we hear about this threat on their lives. it is shameful. these are public servants who are not well-paid at all, and they don't get a lot of recognition. they're really heros of democracy right now. >> brennan: and they're working amid a pandemic. so thank you. and we thank all of the election workers who helped our democracy function. we'll be right back. unitedhealthcare medicare plans offer more. like the "visit a doctor anywhere our rv takes us" plan.

and the "zero copays means more money for rumba lessons" plan. find the right plan for you from unitedhealthcare. get medicare with more. this was the theater i came to quite often. ♪ the support we've had over the last few months has been amazing. i have a soft spot for local places. it's not just a work environment. everyone here is family. gonna go ahead and support him, get my hair cut, leave a big tip. if we focus on our local communities, we can find a way to get through this together. thank you. ♪ if you are ready to open your heart and your home, check us out. get out and about and support our local community.

we thought for sure that we were done. and this town said: not today. ♪ we love our new home. there's so much space. we have a guestroom now. but, we have aunts. you're slouching again, ted. expired, expired... expired. thanks, aunt bonnie. it's a lot of house. i hope you can keep it clean. at least geico makes bundling our home and car insurance easy. which helps us save a lot of money oh, teddy. did you get my friend request? uh, i'll have to check. (doorbell ringing) aunt joni's here! for bundling made easy, go to geico.com. hello? >> brennan: the election may be over, but this new surge of coronavirus cases is just now beginning to take off. we want to check in with former f.d.a. commissioner dr. scott gottlieb. good morning. >> doctor: good morning.

>> brennan: the president-elect says his first priority is dealing with this pandemic. some of the names released by his campaign includes a former surgeon general from the obama years. realistically, what can a group like this do now, since they don't take office until the end of january? >> doctor: well, i think the first thing they want to do is come in with a very clear plan. the president-elect has articulated what he would do. there is not a lot of novelty to this. we know what works and what we need to do. they want to plan on how they're going to hit the ground running. the other thing they could be doing is working directly with the national governors' association. we have one president at a time, they're not in the position to govern. but they can work with the governors to formulate policy through the governors with the governors and try to create a more nationally strategy. because if you're not going to have a

federally-led strategy, you want to at least coordinate along the different states so it is a more cohesive plan. >> brennan: it sounds a pretty grim assessment of what you think the trump administration will do between now and january to get ahold of the virus. >> doctor: i'm not sure what they're going to do. my advice would be to get more aggressive. we've been sort of arguing politically over what i think is a false dichotomy, a choice between lockdowns and no lockdowns. and that's not the case. we don't need to shut down the country and tell people we need to stay at home to get some measure of control over this virus. it is a contagious virus that is going to spread. but it doesn't need to spread at the levels and the velocity that will depress the health care system. we're seeing that in wisconsin, building field hospitals, utah is building field hospitals.

now 56,000 people are hospitalized. 11,000 are in the i.c.u. these are very big numbers nationally, and it is accelerating very quickly. >> brennan: the president-elect said he wants to quickly appoint a supply commander to oversee testing, and eventually a vaccine, and materials and masks and gowns. you said a lot of these wheels will be in motion by the time he takes office. are these realistic expectations for him to be setting? >> andre: >> doctor: i think you need to do it anyway. at the time the president-elect takes office, we'll probably be at the any pecks o apex. the only question will be how many people have died in the course of this, and how many people have been infected. we have to keep those numbers down as much as

possible. there is still a lot you can do, making sure you have adequate supplies of drugs, and eventually vaccines, and the testing equipment and the supply chain. because this isn't going to be over in 2021, i think it will be better, but you still want to make sure you have adequate supplies when you head into the fall of 2021, when we're going to face risks again. and the supply chain can be affected in the near term. things like durable medical equipment, testing supplies, gloves, gowns, masks. >> brennan: there have been a lot of celebratory gatherings in the last 24 hours, mostly with masks, but not all. i wonder whether you think in january we'll be able to have an inauguration with the usual celebrations? >> doctor: i don't think we will. i don't think we'll be able to bring large crowds together for an inauguration. we'll be right in the thick of probably the worst point of this

epidemic wave we're going through. and the biden campaign and team have shown they're willing to forgo the usual trappings of running for office. i suspect they'll take a similar approach to how they'll handle the inauguration. we'll not be able to bring together tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people for a typical inauguration. >> brennan: we've learned that the president's chief-of-staff, mark meadows, is now covid positive. he was at the white house gathering just this week when the president addressed the nation on election night. he had access to testing, regular testing. so i just wonder what the message is for everyday americans who are thinking about celebrating thanksgiving, and maybe think if they get a test beforehand they're adequately protecting their families. are they? >> doctor: no, they're not. i mean, the test can help. i think it is prudent to try to get tested if

you're going to bring together a group of people. but if you have individuals who are vulnerable in that setting, you need to be very careful if you're going to be exposing younger people to older individuals who are vulnerable. if you do do that, make sure they're wearing high-quality masks, n-95, and try to keep people separated and distanced where you can. you need to take a layered approach. testing alone can't create a safe environment. even the nhl and nba weren't able to use testing alone. >> brennan: dr. gottlieb, great to talk to you. we'll be back in a momentch

♪ ♪ i got it all from you ♪ i'm always pushing through

♪ i know we'll make it to the finish line ♪ ♪ i know you're waiting on the other side ♪ ♪ i'm like you on-demand glucose monitoring. because they're always on. another life-changing technology from abbott. so you don't wait for life. you live it. >> brennan: around the world, there has been some surprising and some not so surprising reaction from world leaders about the new american president. cbs news foreign correspondent holly williams reports from moscow. >> reporter: good morning. russia state media has portrayed this u.s. election as chaotic and its democracy as flawed. but even inside the kremlin, they may be looking forward to a more predictable american president. america has made its choice, and its choice is a man who rarely leaves his basement, who often

doesn't know where he is. >> reporter: that's arti, often referred to as a russian propaganda outlet. u.s. intelligence concluded that russia inerfered in the 2016 election, and u.s. officials warned it was doing the same this year, seeking to denigrate joe biden. but political analyst maria littman believes that russia is disappointed in the trump administration, and may welcome a more conventional president. >> he will be more a kind of man of the establishment, not erratic. and this in itself is an advantage. >> reporter: there were no warm congratulations from iran. >> iran has called for the next administration to return to its obligation. >> reporter: he hoped the u.s. would return to the nuclear deal, which joe biden has pledged to do. china's state media has also reveled in america's

election turmoil, but its leaders hope that joe biden will resolve the trade war started by president trump. >> i look very much towards working with president biden and his team in a lot of crucial stuff in the weeks and months ahead. >> reporter: and the mayor of paris tweeted simply: welcome back, america. many of america's allies want to return to u.s. leadership, whether it is supporting the world health organization or rejoining the paris agreement on climate change. margaret? >> brennan: holly william in moscow. thank you. and we turn now to the one and only bob schieffer. we have to give you the final word. it is good to see you and to see you here in person. >> thank you very much. and i'm honored to be with you. >> brennan: you're always so good at putting things into perspective. how do you sum up this week? >> we still live in a very

divided, deeply divided, country. and i don't think there is any question of that. biden won this election fair and square, as far as we know. i think there is no suggestion of any kind of fraud or anything like that. but i think that will take care of itself. ihave the investigations, but i don't think much will come of that. here is the thing, it is as if president trump were elected not of the united states, but of two different countries, two very different countries. and i think the democrats have to treat the losing side with the utmost respect and dignity because they're going to be there. and joe biden is going to need their help as well as the help of democrats to do what needs to be done in this country. it is a huge victory for

democrats, but it is not the shellacking of trumpism that democrats were hoping for. 71 million people voted for donald trump. that's a huge number of people out there. and they're not going away. the other part is, i don't think donald trump is going away. i think he is going to leave the white house, but he is still going to be around. i don't know doing what, but i just don't see him leaving after getting 70 million votes. >> brennan: with really ard danant supporters, too. the president-elect has made the right moves in terms of rhetoric. he said last night, i know what it is like to lose and how hard it is. but how do you actually unite a country where the divisions go so deep? >> i think you do what joe biden has been doing. i think he has been doing

pretty much the right thing. he reached out and said, i want to be the president of all of the people, not just the president of the democrats. and i think it is important for him to tone down this rhetoric. i mean, not talking about enemies but talking about opponents, talking about how people can have two different points of view. i think what the president-elect -- and maybe he has already done this -- my guess is he probably has. i think the first thing he needs to do is call mitch mcconnell. he knows him. they have been friends for 30 years. i know that mitch mcconnell thinks highly of joe biden. now, i'm not saying call him and run out and tell everybody on television, i just called mitch mcconnell. keep it betwn themselves. there has got to be things that are good for both joe biden and for mitch mcconnell. and if there are, then

that's good for the country. and i think that's the place to start. how could either of them be hurt by later holding a news conference and saying, we just want everybody to know we're talking. >> brennan: i love that that is the new benchmark for success, hey, at least they talked. but what do you think -- because the list is so long -- what do you think is the most difficult challenge for the new president? >> i just getting people -- he has to get people in his own party together. and they've got to decide on what the priorities are. there is no question that covid has to come first, but he also has to deal with this economy. and among other things, why couldn't e com he come up with -- the two of them, come up with some sort of public works plan, where people who can't work in restaurants, because it is so dangerous, could work outside in public works projects?

i keep hearing things like that that can be done and are possible. >> brennan: there are 11 million people looking for jobs that just haven't come back. bob, thank you. so good to see you. we'll be right back. you can feel confident fidelity, that the only direction you're moving is forward. to severe plaque psoriasis uncover clearer skin that can last. in fact, tremfya® was proven superior to humira® in providing significantly clearer skin. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. uncover clearer skin that can last. janssen can help you explore cost support options.

>> brennan: that's it for us today. thank you for watching. we won't see you next week. instead cbs sports will be broadcasting the masters, starting at 10:00 a.m. eastern, but we will see you the sunday after that. for "face the tion," i'm margaret brennan.

garrett . a call for unity and action. president elect joe biden plans to govern. >> this is the time to heal in america. >> four days after the last ballots were cast, biden headquarters in wilmington, delaware, lights up in red, white and blue. horn honking celebrations erupt in several cities. president trump plays golf again. no word on a concession, though on twitter. a new tiraid and false allegations. >> vice president elect kamala harris makes history. >> you ushered in a new day for america. >> plus america's allies recognize the president elect. rivals watch for what i