Face The Nation

FULL INTERVIEW: Dr. Deborah Birx, who helped coordinate the international response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak, joins “Face the Nation” to discuss the latest on the current outbreak.

When asked whether having acting heads of the CDC and the FDA would hinder any response to an outbreak in the U.S., Dr. Deborah Birx is confident in the U.S. government's potential response, citing “a very deep bench in many of these agencies.” She goes on to say, “I think this interagency response is already putting assets, people, and money on the ground.”

“This country is a great place. It's not politics,” Lt. Col. William Swenson, U.S Army (Ret.) said he’s optimistic about the future of the United States amid a turbulent political climate. “Ultimately, we continue forward as a country, continually imperfect, continually evolving forward, always trying to achieve a more perfect union,” he told @margbrennan. “That's what's important to remember, what we can achieve aspirationally.” Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Williams, U.S Army (Ret.), concurred with Swenson’s point, saying “be grateful for what you've got and the opportunity that was provided for you. If you do that, I don't see how you can't be optimistic about our future.”

Reflecting on the Afghanistan war, America’s longest conflict that cost the lives of nearly 2,500 U.S. service members, Lt. Col. William Swenson, U.S Army (Ret.), said “there was loss of life because we believed in the mission, and ultimately, as service members, that's what we do.” “Our war is part of our history. Our service overseas is part of our history. If we don't tell these stories, we as a nation don't know how to always improve,” he told @margbrennan. “We are an imperfect nation that's always trying to improve, and it's through our history as a lens that we look forward on how to do better next time.”

Medal of Honor recipient Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Williams, U.S Army (Ret.), says “it’s a privilege” to receive the award “because not everybody gets the opportunity to put this medal on.” “Well over 50% of the medals that have been awarded have been awarded posthumously,” Williams noted. “It's a privilege to be able to continue to serve, serve our country, serve our people, serve our fellow recipients, and serve the fellow service members that are out there across the globe today,” he said.

“We're ambassadors to those whose stories were not told,” Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Col. William Swenson, U.S. Army (Ret.), said, describing the duty bestowed upon the award’s recipients to carry on the legacy and stories of those who died in the U.S. military and represent the best of Americans. “As Medal of Honor recipients, we are a very fair representation of America. We're a snapshot of this country,” Swenson told @margbrennan. “We come from towns, cities, all walks of life, different political views, and ultimately, we are a very democratic representation of the values of this country.”

Asked about the Trump Justice Department’s $1.8 million “anti-weaponization” fund, the Trump administration’s top economic adviser Kevin Hassett argues, “The previous administration and the Obama administration weaponized government against President Trump, and what he wants to do is make sure that never happens again and compensate the people who were the targets of the destruction of their lives.”

As President Trump and negotiators try to close a deal with Iran, top White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett says that when a deal is finalized, within “a month and two months, we expect everyone to have all the oil they need in every refinery on Earth.” “The bottom line is, once the straits are open, then the tankers are going to go back, and they are going to refill refineries almost right away,” he says.

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, asked about the recent record low in the consumer sentiment index, argued, “we should stop calling it consumer sentiment and start calling it political sentiment because it’s really a political variable, not an economic variable.” “If you go to consumer confidence, which is something that's actually, I think, a more scientific survey, the consumer confidence is consistent with all the other positive numbers we're seeing right now,” Hassett adds.

Regarding recent antisemitism incidents in the U.S., Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) says “It's totally unacceptable, and what's happening now is it's far too often in our politics on both sides…Whether it's Hasan Piker, who's a streamer on the left, or Candace Owens on the right.” “None of this should be acceptable,” he adds. “And Mike [Lawler] and I… both of us believe deeply that we need to stand up to this.” “It is something that all of us have a responsibility to push back against, regardless of party,” adds Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY). “What Josh and I are trying to do in putting this resolution forward is to say, ‘Enough,’ and to say to both parties, ‘We have to police our own. We cannot allow this. We cannot support candidates who engage in rank, vile antisemitism.’”

When asked about the recent settlement that prevents the IRS from auditing any Trump family tax records, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) says President Trump “obviously had claims that he brought against the government as a result of” the Biden administration. “I think when it comes to any agreements that the president has made with the IRS, from my vantage point, you know, I think looking back at what the Biden administration did,” he says. “They certainly weaponized the government and were targeting the president.”

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), who serves as chair of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, says the Trump administration has been able to “force the remnants of this regime into a negotiation, a real negotiation.” “The bottom line is the objective is to ensure that Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon, and that is what President Trump has been clear and consistent on from the very beginning,” Lawler adds. But Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) says “it's unclear if we've made any substantial progress.” “We've had a clear goal along, which is to crush Iran and reduce their ballistic and missile program, and their nuclear program, their terror program,” he adds. “And all we got was actually something that was never on the table: a reopening of the Straits of Hormuz. That to me, in the end, will not be reaching the goals initially set forth here.”

Asked about the draft Democratic National Committee autopsy of Democrats’ loss in the 2024 election that was released last week, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) says “this is a very shoddy piece of work. It's an incomplete piece of work.” Van Hollen says DNC Chairman Ken Martin “should have just ripped off the band-aid earlier and put it out…we're six months from a very important election, and we should not be changing horses at this time.”

Following a judge’s decision to throw out human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) says he’s spoken to Abrego Garcia and his wife and “they’re, of course, pleased that the court system [has] applied the law.” “This case is not about Kilmar Abrego Garcia alone,” he says. “This is really about the rights of each and every one of us, and when the Trump administration decided to… vindictively prosecute him for that, they were further threatening the rights of all of us.”

When asked about the Justice Department’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) says “we should get rid of this political slush fund.” “The acting attorney general refused to say that they would disclose the names of all the people who received these taxpayer funds,” Van Hollen adds. “So let's be clear, this is a corrupt deal, and in the process, the president, of course, got a complete get out of jail free card with respect to any taxes that he has due…another corrupt part of this deal.”

When asked about the emerging details of a possible peace deal with Iran, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) says “when you're digging a hole, you should stop digging. That's what this agreement sounds like. It sounds like we will go back to opening the Strait of Hormuz, which, of course, was open before the war started.” “However,” he adds, “it looks like Iran will retain more control over those straits. We also know Iran has an even more hardline regime in place now, and we're talking about releasing some of Iran's frozen assets.”

Following a call with several Middle Eastern leaders Saturday afternoon, President Trump said that a peace deal with Iran had been "largely negotiated." He also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said Israel will maintain freedom of action against all threats, including Lebanon, whether this draft agreement is signed or not. @ImtiazTyab reports from Tel Aviv.

WATCH: “Face the Nation” on CBS and Paramount+ starts now.

SUNDAY: We’ll speak to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Member Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) on the latest developments in the Middle East, Cuba, and more. Tune in at 10:30 am ET.

SUNDAY: Amid an escalating Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the surrounding region, we’ll speak with former White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx. Tune in, 10:30 am ET.