Full transcript of "Face the Nation" on January 16, 2022

(End VT)  MARGARET BRENNAN: The president even concedes his effort is likely doomed. (End VT)  MARGARET BRENNAN: Given the enormous challenges facing Mr. Biden, is the fight a good use of precious political capital? (End VT)  MARGARET BRENNAN: Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, and former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb will all be here. Thursday will mark the first full year since President Biden took office, and a new CBS News poll shows Americans think he's not focused enough on key issues like the economy and inflation. ANTHONY SALVANTO: Good morning, MARGARET, let's start with COVID, now part of this is just expectations at the start of his term; people thought COVID would get better, but right now most people don't think the effort against the pandemic is going well. When you look at why people might think he's not doing a good job, the thing that stands out is information, people feel it's been confusing – that stands out. MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, when it comes to the issues that we say matter here, the economy and inflation, what exactly is hurting the president? He's got to be seen looking at those problems that people think are paramount and that is inflation, MARGARET. MARGARET BRENNAN: So, this is the lowest point in his presidency when it comes to approval of how he's handling COVID, not approval of the economy and how he's handling inflation. MARGARET BRENNAN: The things that people actually experience. KAINE: Well, look, I think it's a tough time right now, and MARGARET, as you know, the White House's focus, significant energy on the economy in the first year, record job growth in the first year of the White House, 3.9% unemployment rate and very strong growth in wages. KAINE: Yeah, I don't agree with you, MARGARET, you're right that it's dead, the- the most recent version of it is not going to happen, but if you look at the core of the bill, I think the core is education and workforce and things like reduced child care and education expenses, workforce training and then support for the workforce in areas like health care. KAINE: Well, MARGARET, I do think we- we are talking a lot about the infrastructure bill. Right now, it doesn't look like it has the votes to pass, but we're going to cancel our Martin Luther King Day recess and be there this week because we think it's so important for the country. MARGARET BRENNAN: The- the president, as you know, gave this very high-profile speech this week- this past week in Georgia. Joe Biden was tough in his words, but I think what he said is in the 1960s, say the Voting Rights Act of 1965, people, including people of goodwill, had to decide were they going to stand on the side of Bull Connor or stand on the side of John Lewis. MARGARET BRENNAN: So, you disagree with Sen. Dick Durbin, who said the president may have gone too far there. KAINE: You're right, MARGARET, I think we could have won that race had we done infrastructure a month earlier. If we do that will speak to their inflation concern, we will help people out in every zip code in this country; I think we've got to do that. MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator, thank you for your time this morning. (ANNOUNCEMENTS)  MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the Ukrainians are saying it looks like it has some Russian fingerprints on it. MARGARET BRENNAN: Russia has been moving, tanks have been moving military equipment, their top diplomat said Friday, "their patience is running out, diplomacy is not working." Are- are you planning to get President Putin, President Biden and President Zelensky of Ukraine all on the phone together, like the Ukrainians are asking? But as you said and as the secretary of state has said, time is running short, and I was in Israel at the end of last month– MARGARET BRENNAN: – Yeah.-- SULLIVAN –coordinating on the possibility that diplomacy does not proceed. MARGARET BRENNAN: Eighty percent of hospital beds are occupied in your state, Omicron is really hitting hard. LARRY HOGAN: Well, we've been pushing for quite some time, you know, the president announced nearly a month ago before Christmas that he was going to distribute these half a billion rapid test out across the country. MARGARET BRENNAN: Right. MARGARET BRENNAN: What's happening in schools right now, and I understand that this is district by district and the decisions are different, but Prince George's County, as you know a District of Columbia suburb, went virtual right around Christmas. MARGARET BRENNAN: No, but you oppose them going virtual and in other- other parts of the state where they did go back in person, you had some lower attendance rates because people were sick. Look, we have- we currently have 34 people in the hospital–  MARGARET BRENNAN: Well they went remote– GOV. MARGARET BRENNAN: OK, well, we will stay on top of you and then we'll start asking you if you're going to run in 2024, which you've been asked and said, you won't comment on either. (ANNOUNCEMENTS)  MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, Quinton Lucas. MARGARET BRENNAN: You've said you'd consider a citywide mask mandate if deaths and hospitalizations reached a certain point. MARGARET BRENNAN: But to that point, we have new CBS polling out today that really faults the administration itself for confusing messaging around Covid. But I do think that there is a role, not just for the federal government, but for state governments, to actually be helpful, right? Whether they come from our state capitals, whether they come from federal government, I think that's what the people of America want on the ground. MARGARET BRENNAN: You mentioned one of the people who is challenging your mandates is someone running for Senate in your state. And I do certainly think that more national voices that are saying, look, Democrats are doing things that make basic sense now, trying to address supply chain issues, trying to make sure people have Covid testing, and fundamentally making sure that we're looking out for the people of Kansas City in America. MARGARET BRENNAN: Right. MARGARET BRENNAN: Mr. Mayor, thank you for your time. MARGARET BRENNAN: The acting FDA commissioner told Congress most people are going to get COVID, Dr. Fauci said most people will be exposed to it at some point. GOTTLIEB: Well, look, I think the reality is most people are going to get COVID in their lifetime, I don't think most people need to get COVID within the next month and anything we can do to try to protect ourselves to extent that there are people who haven't been exposed to this virus yet, who've gone out and gotten vaccinated, been able to protect themselves. MARGARET BRENNAN: You heard Governor Hogan, a Republican, say the federal government is falling short on its response right now. MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, Governor Hogan said they were having a hard time at the state level, getting a hold of tests. MARGARET BRENNAN: Right. GOTTLIEB: Look, I think they've talked about masks, there's only so much the federal government can do to try to get consumers to wear masks, this really has to be done at the state and the local level. MARGARET BRENNAN: OK, Dr. Gottlieb, always good to talk to you. Until next week, for FACE THE NATION, I'm Margaret Brennan.