first we'll take a look at the role of prayer in politics with two senators, delaware democrat chris coons and oklahoma republican james lankford, united by the bond of prayer shared with a bipartisan group of senators every week. >> what we really need to do here in washington i think is model the ability to disagree with each other but not be cruel or sharp or nasty to each other. >> brennan: then a special interview with first daughter and presidential adviser ivanka trump. a new family leave policy gives federal workers 12 weeks of paid leave when they have children or adopt. will more private companies follow the government's lead? >> our goal is to ensure that paid leave is available to all americans. >> brennan: an we'll honor the end of the year with our cbs news correspondents panel. it's a 69-year tradition that's entering its seventh decade as we prepare to enter a new decade in 2020. all this and much more is ahead on "face the nation." good morning and welcome to "face the nation." the holidays are filled with tradition, and one 60-year senate tradition that's largely gone unn

senator chris coons gives us his view next. us. it's what this country is made of., our bond is fraying. how do we get back to "us"? the y fills the gaps. and bridges our divides. donate to your local y today. because where there's a y, there's an us. the best of pressure cooking and air frying now in one pot, and with tendercrisp technology, you can cook foods that are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. the ninja foodi pressure cooker, the pressure cooker that crisps. (children playing) (dog barking) ♪ (music building) experience the power of sanctuary at the lincoln wish list sales event. sign and drive off in a new lincoln with zero down, zero due at signing, and a complimentary first month's payment. >>> house speaker nancy pelosi will make an announcement about the impeachment investigation at 9:00 a.m. eastern. this comes as democrats move closer to drafting articles of impeachment against president trump setting the stage for a senate trial as soon as next month. joining us now is democratic senator chris coons. he serves on the senate judiciary c

i mean, it's interesting, though, because, you know, i'm struck by chris coons at -- >> yeah. >> was at some type of event, senator chris coons. >> from delaware. >> from delaware who was talking about the polarization. and he in part said i think history's going to look back on the diversity that we have and see that as part of the problem in terms of getting together. now, i'm not exactly -- i don't know exactly how he was characterizing that. i think it's an odd thing to say but i think there is, you know, part of what we see is that there is -- when you have people from different backgrounds and life experiences, people aren't going to agree on what's happening today. >> i think, though, that we've had identity politics this whole time. >> of course. yes. >> it's just been white identity politics and that's what we've been playing. we've been centering whiteness and maleness essentially as the only thing we cared about in politics. and this moment is the moment we're saying, okay, we're going to open up the doors a bit. we're going to talk about what your lived experience is like

message is about preparing for an america after trump. >> and joining me now is democratic senator chris coons of delaware, and member of the senate judiciary committee. senator coons, welcome back to "meet the press." >> good to be with you. >> let me start with what you would like to see from a senate trial. but try to address it this way. it feels like to many americans, we already know what the outcome is going to be. and in fact, it feels as if the process in some ways, the leaders in capitol hill, both on the house democratic side and the senate republican side have decided to try to shorten everything, right? shorten the investigation process, shorten the trial. where does that leave us? >> well, chuck, that's a great question. what needs to happen next, now that it's clear that the house is going to vote out two articles of impeachment and we will likely for only the third time in our history have president trump on trial in front of the senate early next year. majority leader mcconnell needs to sit down with chuck schumer and negotiate over exactly what the terms of this trial will be

. >>> let's bring in chris coons on the senate judiciary committee and he just finished questioning.g us. we appreciate it. the inspector general said today that no one should feel vindicated by this report. what was your big takeaway from his testimony today? >> well, jake, first, the inspector general conducted a strikingly broad investigation. they looked sat a million documents. they conducted interviews of over a hundred witnesses and they ultimately concluded that the fbi did not act with with political bias. that they launched an investigation into the possible collusion between russian intelligence and the trump campaign with a solid and legal foundation. they did identify some missteps, inadequacies in fbi procedure and behavior but overarching the important conclusion the i.g. reached is those actions did not influence how that investigation was launched or the conclusions that it ultimately reached. >> we live in a time of such division. there isn't even agreement within the leadership of this justice department on this. take a listen to this exchange between the inspector

it's interesting because i'm struck by chris coons who was at some type of event -- >> delaware. >> from's talking about the polarization. and he in part said i think in history he's going to look back on the diversity we have and see that as part of the problem in terms of getting together. don't know how exactly he was characterizing that. it's an odd thing to say, but i think there is -- you know, part of what we see is there is when you have people from different backgrounds and life experiences, people aren't going to agree on what's happening today. >> i think, though, we've had identity politics this whole time. >> of course, yes. >> and that's what we've been playing. we've been centering whiteness and maleness as essentially the only thing we cared about in politic and this moment we're saying, okay, we're going to open up the doors a bit and talk about your experience is like as a woman, what policies people are putting forward that impact your experience whether or not you're rich or poor or black or white. and i i think now we're actually opening the door and allowing people

not someone who's trying to tear apart what is left of our health care safety net. >> senator chris coonsor explaining all of that for our viewers. we will talk to you soon. >> interesting to hear senator coons not necessarily completely jazzed about the nancy pelosi maneuver. >> we will be watching throughout the day as that plays out. >>> a lot said on the way to this historic kpeechlt voimpeac. some of it was true. a lot of it not. we have a much-needed reality check next 267. are my diamond. for the diamond in your life, get up to 40% off storewide or get these one of a kind deals at the "you are my diamond" event. exclusively at zales, the diamond store. but you don't feel good. with polycythemia vera, pv, symptoms can change so slowly over time you might not notice. but new or changing symptoms can mean your pv is changing. let's change the way we see pv. you track and discuss blood counts with your doctor. but it's just as vital to discuss changing symptoms as well. take notice and take action. discuss counts and symptoms with your doctor. visit takeactionpv.com so why treat your m

. >> i'm joined right now by senator chris coons of delaware. thank you, senator, for joining us. what do you make of this back and forth tonight between the speaker of the house and the senate majority leader over whether there will be a senate trial even of the president. it seems like the senate republican leader is saying we really don't want the articles. this is strange conversation so far. >> well, chris, it's been a striking week here in the senate. obviously the house has impeached president trump on two articles. we've also passed a whole bunch of other bills that are i think well worth talking about, but we are leaving for the holiday break without clarity about when the impeachment articles will come over and when the senate trial will begin. majority leader mcconnell, senator schumer need to negotiate what are going to be the rules around evidence and witnesses. and it's my hope they'll get that done before we return on january 6th. >> but mitch mcconnell's position is you don't negotiate any of that until the trial begin. you don't even talk about witnesses until you

senator coombs gave the democratic address, -- senator chris coons gave the democratic address. senator kunz: this has been a solemn week in the u.s. congress, where we have been challenged and reminded to put our country over the party in the interests of the american people over partisan politics. we have seen overwhelming evidence that clearly suggests president trump engaged in serious misconduct, that he prre

tonight that are very well-founded in the evidence presented in the house. >> democratic senator chris coons of delaware, i really appreciate your time tonight. thanks for making time. >> thank you, rachel. >> i will say to the point senator coons was just making there, we are expecting -- this just popped in the last couple of minutes, leader mcconnell has posted a statement online saying he will speak on the senate floor tomorrow morning at 9:30. he says, quote, i will speak about the house democrats' precedent-breaking impeachment of the president of the united states. so he's foreshadowing what he's going to say there, the precedent for a modern impeachment, the clinton impeachment is that the republicans and democrats in the senate agree together on rules for the conduct of the trial that they mutually agree upon and there's unanimous agreement from all senators, that those are the rules on which they will proceed. senator mcconnell already signaling he considers this impeachment to have broken all precedents and therefore he will undoubtedly argue tomorrow at 9:30 he therefore doesn't

one of the people who will likely be taking that oath in the next year is senator chris coons, a democratrom delaware, and he joins me now. let's start on this question of impartiality. you have the senate majority leader saying, look, we are working hand and glove with the president's defense attorneys then the wording of this oath which i imagine you and your colleagues take scariously. how do you square those two? >> i intend to take that oath seriously. one of the things i have been take to my republican colleagues is that president trump deserves the chance to put on a full vigorous defense. but he declined to do so in the house. he blocked the folks who are most central to making the president's case from testifying in front of the house. so all i can say is i will do my best to do impartial justice, but all of the evidence that i have been able to hear or see so far from the house inquiry points to president trump having actually dangled military aid as a bribe or inducement to a vulnerable ally, ukraine, in order to get them to dig up dirt without any foundation on his most viable

joining me now delaware senator chris coons. he will be on the senate side.huck. >> what's the biggest take away for you from the i.g. report, the biggest finding? >> to me the several hundred page report by inspector general horowitz was there was no political bias and no fundamental flaw. at the beginning of the fbi's investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election. let me remind you what the basic fact pattern is here. they confirm the intelligence committee's conclusion russia interfered in our 2016 election. as candidate trump welcomed that engagement and interference and the fbi appropriately launched an investigation into contacts between the trump campaign and russia. >> how would you discern -- you know, one of the issues of bias that you hear in investigations usually never has to do with political. almost always has to do with investigative, meaning -- >> that's right. >> when you have a theory and there is a piece of evidence that fits the theory, you're like, you're gungho. how would you try to discern that kind of bias in an investi

we'll talk with democratic senator chris coons and republican senator james langford, and then a conversation with adviser to the president ivanka trump. that's next week on "face the nation." joint replacing, and depression relieving company. from the day you're born we never stop taking care of you. (i love watching the weather. hello, my name is itsy bitsy. rain again? (robin) hahahaha! (statler) that's impossible. i always plan ahead! let's try one more time. (kermit) ha! robin, what do you think of the story so far? (robin) gee, i've always liked arachnids. solid opening. boy, can't wait to see how it ends. (waldorf) what a coincidence! i can't wait for it to end too! (waldorf & statler) oh hahahaha! (statler vo) portal from facebook. that will makeout washington insiders very uncomfortable: term limits. you and i both know we need term limits, that congress shouldn't be a lifetime appointment. but members of congress, and the corporations who've bought our democracy hate term limits. too bad. i'm tom steyer and i approve this message because the only way we get universal healthcare, add

this section is something that i and chris coons from delaware, that we have worked on for months and months and months to finally get fixed for all these nonprofits. for those of us that know and love the work that nonprofits do all over the country, this is one of their prime issues that they want to finally get results so they can get back to focusing on taking care of people that are homeless and hungry and needy rather than having to count parking spaces and turn in literally a 30-page form to the i.r.s. finally, dealing with the medical device tax which has lingered for years. it's an important issue for us to be able to resolve because it's raising the cost of people getting medical devices. we did a boost in funding for n.i.h., national institutes of health. that deals with an increase in funding of things like alzheimer's that we should continue to invest in. that also deals with things in oklahoma on some of the oklahoma medical research foundation, stevenson's cancer center at o.u., and also some of the rural health care programs, especially dealing with telemedicine, becau

historic year for college athletics first utah senator mitt romney and connecticut democrat senator chris coonspartisan working group to figure out how to compensate student athletes. the hope is lawmakers, players, and universities will come together to solve a very complicated issue. and solve it fairly. it all comes out to the double cna comes out and finally decides college athletes can profit from their names, images, said likenesses. after all college sports brings in billions, and the kids on the field are basically indentured servants. critics say the plan is still full of

democratic senator chris coons of delaware, a member of the judiciary and foreign relations committees. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. >> the president objects to what he describes as new impeachment rules with senator schumer and wants to make the case to use the same process they used from 20 years ago during the bill clinton impeachment trial in the senate with question of witnesses left until later in the trial. what do you make of that? >> frankly, it's striking to me, wolf, majority leader mcconnell has waited so long to begin negotiations with senator schumer over the impeachment trial as soon as we return. i do think we should be looking to the clinton precedent where the rules were adopted 100-0 unanimously in the senate and ultimately produces a trial even in a bitterly partisan time was respected as being fair. there were witnesses deposed by videotape, not live witnesses, there was access to evidence. let me remind you of one other thing, president clinton and president nixon both directed their closest advisors and cabinet officials to cooperate with the impeachment

i think we'll just see more political theater. >> senator chris coons thank you so much for everythingg byme. he joins the table. >>> straight ahead and as we go to break, we want to mention a track from joe's band is included on a new holiday collection. the song is called "i don't want to go home for christmas" which i'm going to ask him about that. why wouldn't he want to come home? i don't get it. you can listen right now on spotify. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ♪ i'm your mother in law. and i like to question your every move. like this left turn. it's the next one. you always drive this slow? how did you make someone i love? that must be why you're always so late. i do not speed. and that's saving me cash with drivewise. my son, he did say that you were the safe option. and that's the nicest thing you ever said to me. so get allstate. stop bossing. where good drivers save 40% for avoiding mayhem, like me. this is my son's favorite color, you should try it. [mayhem] you always drive like an old lady? [tina] you're an old lady. in america, the zip code you're

. >> martha: apparently chris coons said today on fox news and he is a supporter and friend of joe bidenaid joe biden made it clear to me he's ready and able and willing to serve two terms if necessary. that's an interesting way of putting it. >> exactly. the last president who was elected promising to serve only one term was 175 years ago. james k polk and he died three months after leaving office. it's not a very effective strategy. it's not surprising biden is pushing back on it, but what is clear from the story is that his advisors are talking about it. they are not just talking to each other. they are talking to politico three prominent senior advisor to the biden campaign who said it. it's pretty devastating because what it's saying is even his own advisors don't think he can serve eight years in the oval office. people who seem up close feel that way about him in the american people are going to see it eventually. >> martha: it's one way of looking at it. >> it was not named. we don't know that they are senior. >> martha: let's put up this poll that looks at new hampshire. pete bu

we have lindsey graham, and chris coons now staying reformist. >> absolutely, i think all americans needabout president trump is about the privacy of all american people. liz: it's great to have a politicized police force going after a presidential campaign. >> james comey's credibility problems, he went on tv trying to argue that the dossier was not a critical part of the probe. >> my recollection was, it was part of a broader mosaic of facts laid before the by the judge to obtain a fisa warrant. >> a lot more than the dossier in the five applications. [crowd boos] there was additional material to believe he was an agent of a foreign power and the dossier was part of that but was not all of it or critical part of it. >> he is totally wrong, according to the d.o.j. ig. here is michael horowitz testifying he is wrong. >> the hurricane team obtained information from his primary sub source in january 2017, to raise significant questions about the reliability of the steel reporting. this is particularly noteworthy because the fisa application relied entirely on information from the primary s

. >> my guest this morning, democratic senator chris coons of delaware, and republican senator pat toomeybenefit of the doubt? >> he's squandered it so often,

. >> so that was langford and chris coons talking to cbs's face the nation.ve heard versions of this before. republicans say donald trump isn't a good guy, but he's still my guy. >> yeah, you can see that in the ad that the president played in the world series. you may not like trump, he may ruffle some feathers but it takes donald trump to get stuff done. there are a lot of people who believe as senator langford does that the president's record can be defended, record low unemployment, et cetera, but his personal character is indefensible. >> what about mike pence? he's waiting in the wings, right? if you play it out -- >> i mean one of the things that's very strange in both the clinton impeachment and this is that the parties fight so hard to defend a president who is probably harder to re-elect or probably less likely to have a successful next election at the presidential level if they stick with that president. vice president al gore as incumbent president of the united states would have rolled to victory in 2000. that's just not the way democrats chose t

here is what chris coons had to say. >> we will be relying on a small number of republicans who are pushing back on this idea who recognize that impeachment is a serious, significant constitutional moment, there are a few republicans who recognize that what president trump did here was demonstrably impeachable, but who are very concerned about the political consequences for them and their party. >> melissa: is that true? are there a few republicans who think what the president did his demonstrably impeachable? >> we already had a vote on it in the house and in lockstep, they stood together which they never do because of what this president, the evidence. he's done nothing wrong and that is pretty clear at this point. the senate as i mentioned before, if he goes there, he wants a trial, he welcomes it. >> melissa: but there are republican senators who are wavering. >> he wants to bring forward serious witnesses like the whistle-blower, if they are going to do this, if the democrats want this fight, it is something the president is willing to have. >> melissa: are they republican senators who

. >> i want to go out front to the democratic senator from delaware chris coons who sits on the senate judiciary committee, has endorsed joe biden for president. senator, i appreciate your time. you heard manu going through the math. mitch mcconnell says no witnesses and he needs 53 senators, perhaps there are some of them who may support witnesses, may not ultimately support removing the president from office but would support witnesses and a more fulsome trial. do you see any of them stepping up going against the majority leader and siding with schumer on this? >> i think it's possible, erin, if they put the country's best interests ahead of narrow or partisan interests because frankly, the president didn't put on a defense in the house. the house impeachment inquiry saw witness after witness testify that president trump did the things he's alleged to have done, and the president blocked folks who were in the room who were part of the decision making process to hold up the military aid to ukraine or demand the sort of quid pro quo that's alleged, that's how leaders came up with witne

he'll have exclusive interviews with senator pat toomey and senator chris coons. be sure to stay right here, we'd appreciate it. "meet the press" is on at 8:00 a.m. right after this newscast. and as always, larry will be back in about 40 minutes for our weekly political segment. we will take a look. this is really interesting, i think, into the world that gender may play when it comes to impeachment and the 2020 elections. so larry, we'll see you soon for that. thanks so much. >>> turning to other news now, apple employees can now get free genetic screenings for diseases at on-site health clinics. apple has partnered with color jeonomics in cupertino with a pilot program. apple recently set up clinics near their headquarters known as ac wellness for employees and their dependents. the idea is to be more proactive than reactive at apple's clinics. genetic testing can often detect likely health risks in the future and in some cases, patients can take preventive steps to reduce their chances of getting a disease. >>> turning to weather, a winter weather advisory in t

historic year for college athletics first utah senator mitt romney and connecticut democrat senator chris coons formed a bipartisan working group to figure out how to compensate student athletes. the hope is lawmakers, players, and universities will come together to solve a very complicated issue. and solve it fairly. it all comes out to the double cna comes out and finally decides college athletes can profit from their names, images, said likenesses. after all college sports brings in billions, and the kids on the field are basically indentured servants. critics say the plan is still full of smoke and mirrors, i say the latest move is at least a step in the right direction. i recently tackled the issue of pay to play, take a look. >> in a time when college students were caught treated like slobbering socialist children, it's nice to see the ncaa finally treats student athletes like the hard-working adults they actually are. the average division i student athletes spend over 35 hours. week just pursuing their athletic dreams in midseason i while high-profile football and basketball coaches make

. >> so, that's langford and chris coons talking to face the nation.before, donald trump isn't a good guy, but he's my guy. >> you may not like trump, he may ruffle feathers, but it takes donald trump to get this stuff done. i think they're going to be smart to lean into that because there are a lot of people who believe as senator langford does that the president's record can be defended buzz his personal character is indefensible. >> what about mike pence? he's waiting in the wings. >> one of the things that's very strange in both the clinton impeachment and this is that the parties fight so hard to defend a president who's probably harder to reelect or have a successful election if they stick with that president. vice president al gore as incumbent president of the united states would have rolled to victory in 2000. that's not how democrats played it. >> we're just five weeks out from the eye eye caucuses and if you're waiting to get your head in the game, now's the time. we're going to run through the moments in the campaign to get you up to speed.

and it was chris coons who during his tribute said, why don't we use this as a wonderful way to see if we can get past all of the trials and tribulations that we have gone through in the senate and work together for a change. people talk about the senate when they came it wasn't this way. actually it washings but we look -- actually, it was, but we look very fondly upon the past. so i hope that people can take chris' challenge to heart. it is a pretty easy deal. johnny knows it by heart. that's just who he is. but if a person or a group of people or any -- any senator in this body loves to come down here and make speeches after speeches and in many cases very partisan, many partisan. many of the younger members, you know, do this. and i give them that. that's their right. i remember in the house in the early days when i was there, i did that a couple of times and then was talked to by some of the senior members and said, we don't do that here in order to get along. especially in the all-powerful house agriculture committee. and now the senate agriculture committee. we always work toget

leaders in congress were senators john mccain and marco rubio on the republican side and senators chris coons on the democrat side came together, appealed to the d.c. counsel and made this a reality. to me, this highly symbolic issue, very important issue to many people in russia to commemorate a russian democracy leader in such a prominent way in the most important political capital in the world, it shows that the problem and the dividing line is not between one party and another. it never was. it's between people who are ready to stand up on principles and stand up in support of things like democracy and human rights and human freedoms and the rule of law. and those who are happy to collaborate with a dictator. and to be a fellow traveler to a dictator. that's a term for another historical era when those western politicians who would advocate soviet issues would be considered fellow travelers. there are many of those today. the principled voices and the fellow travelers, the collaborators exist on both sides of the political aisle. by the way, it's not just an american phenomenon by any mea

the huffington post and remarking on his friendship with the former vice president joe biden and chris coonse hears in that tape. >> he came to my ceremony and said some of the most incredibly heartfelt things that anybody could ever say to me and he's the nicest person i think i've ever met in politics. >> is that right? >> he is as good a man as god ever created. >> that interview showed you the heart of lindsey graham. someone who knows joe biden w l well. who knows his character and who knows his kindness and that he would turn on him so sharply. i think suggests how corrosive senator graham's close friendship with president trump has been to his core values. >> the word there from the senator is corrosive and carlos, i wonder how you fight that kind of corrosion. what this? stan instance tells us over donald trump over members of the republican caucus? >> the president has had a corrosive effect on a number of republicans. contradictory statements from republicans on capitol hill, criticisms of other people they made in the past and today they'll excuse the same actions or the same stat

senator coombs gave the democratic address, -- senator chris coons gave the democratic address. senator kunz: this has been a solemn week in the u.s. congress, where we have been challenged and reminded to put our country over the party in the interests of the american people over partisan politics. we have seen overwhelming evidence that clearly suggests president trump engaged in serious misconduct, that he pressured and arrived vulnerable foreign country to help him in his upcoming reelection effort and then refused to hand over relevant documents or testimony to cover that up. these are grave allegations. every democrat in the united states senate takes them very seriously. our founders insisted that no one, not even the president, is above the law. and this fundamental principle remains the linchpin of our system of government. to ensure that principle is upheld. -- to ensure that principle is upheld, the founders trusted congress with the sacred power of impeachment. the house is given "the sole power of impeachment" and the senate is given "sole power to try all impeachme

senator chris coons and i are hosting a reception on capitol hill today. we call it the taste of delaware. we're inviting folks to join us if they'd like. but the reason why i mention delaware day, if you actually -- that's the day that we, delaware became the first state to ratify the constitution. we were for one whole week, the entire united states of america opened things up and let the other 49 states in. i think we've done pretty well most days since then. if you look at the prable of the constitution -- preamble of the constitution, it starts off with these words, we the people of the united states, in order to form a more perfect union. that's what it says. we the people of the united states, in order to form a more perfect union. it doesn't say to form a perfect union. it says a more perfect union. and it goes on to talk about the public welfare and how we should be looking out for the good of all of our citizens. the constitution was ratified in a place cold the golden state tavern in dover delaware after three days of deliberation by about 25 or