authorizes pfizer's booster shots for kids ages 12 to 15 as kids go back to school and health officials nervously watch the rising number of hospitalizations nationwide. and the president meets with american farmers and ranchers later this afternoon as the white house unveils a plan to combat rising prices at the supermarket as it battles the rising political fallout from inflation. >> welcome to "meet the press daily". i'm kristen welker in for chuck todd. happy new year. president biden made his return to the white house in the snow. it's an apt metaphor for the blizzard of urgent issues facing him and his party right now, stalled agenda in congress. surging covid cases nationwide. inflation concern at home. russian aggression abroad and much more. and the president is confronting the call amid the very long and dark shadow being cast over washington this week as elected officials reckon with the ongoing aftermath of the january 6th attack on the capitol now approaching the one-year anniversary. democratic leadership invoked the tragic events of that day and lies that refuelled them. meanwhile republicans are grappling with the state of their party and the going so fas to malign the entire election as the, quote, real insur rec. all of it as the house's select committee on the capitol attack continues its investigation into mr. trump's actions and inaction on that tragic day. >> the president was told you need to say directly to your people to go home. leave the capitol. and so it took over 187 minutes to make that simple statement. there's something wrong with that. ? >> the briefing room at the white house is a few steps from the oval office. the president could have at any moment walked those few steps into the briefing room and gone ton television and told his supporters assaulting the capitol to stop. he could have told them to stand down, go home, and he failed to do so. it's hard to imagine a more significant and more serious dereliction of duty than that. >> the one-year anniversary of the capitol attack, the president's actions and the debate around voting rights, it's all playing out as republican state legislatures around the country are enacting new laws, giving more power to partisan officials to oversee or as some fear to subvert future elections. the president and his party begin this year with so much at stake, with consequences that will echo politically through this year's midterms and well beyond. joining me to start us off, mike memoli, leigh ann caldwell, also with us is "the washington post" carol lennog, and carlos kurbello. welcome to all of you. thank you for joining us this hour. mike, i want to start with you at the white house. a snowy white house. talk about this strategy inside the west wing. i know you've been working your sources to try to restart talks on the president's agenda. and i guess the question is how high of an issue is voting rights against the backdrop of build back better all as we approach the anniversary of january 6th? >> well, i'm going to start 2022 by quoting joe biden, quoting his father which is to say you want to see what he values? look at his budget or in this case, look at his schedule. i find it really interesting that the first presidential event at the white house of 2022 is about what they're calling the meat and poultry supply chain action plan. that might sand like an obscure issue. it's a signal that as we begin what is an election year with control of congress at stake, the white house is focusing on literally kitchen table issues. the price of chicken. the price of pork. the price of steak. what people are putting on their table. inflation is a big concern for americans. tomorrow we know the president is going to be dealing with covid having a meeting with his covid response team. obviously this is a white house that wishes the pandemic was in the rear-view mirror as we start another calendar year with cases at an all-time high. the president needs to continue showing the american people he's on top of that urgent crisis. then you look at what will probably be the first major presidential address of 2022, and that's on thursday at the u.s. capitol when he'll talk about the anniversary of the insurrection. and that is really important signal as we see democratic leaders on capitol hill signaling they want to use this moment in part to really jump start the conversation about voting rights in an election year. it should be noelted as well. this is an opportunity for the president to really get back to what was the core issue of his 2020 presidential campaign, the idea of the soul of america being at stake here. this is a moment with voting rights really in jeopardy. so many challenges to the right to vote in state legislatures across the country for the president to weigh in on that. it's also worth noting that vice president harris who has voting rights as part of her major portfolio, will be speaking at the capitol as well. that's i think a real signal of what the white house's priorities are as we head into this year. you mentioned really the build back better legislation, what -- whether or not the president can restart those conversations, can find common ground with joe manchin will be the real early legislative test for this president. we know those conversations we're expecting to be continuing over the course of the president's time in delaware. it's all an audience of one. can you get joe manchin back on board as progressives are urging the president to consider more executive actions to jump start the conversation as well? >> i think he's going to be getting a lot of pressure in the coming weeks to do just that. and mike, you set the table so well and really led me to my next point. for leigh ann, looets talk about voting rights and the strategy to get it passed essentially and based on what mike is saying and our reporting shows, democrats are planning to use this anniversary of january 6th to argue that this is why now is the time. but the question remains, exactly as mike said, why would joe manchin get on board with changing senate rules to get voting rights passed now when he has been saunchly opposed in the past? >> yeah. and that's the question. joe manchin is at the center of negotiations for the build back better plan. he's also at the center of changing the rules for the senate topaz this voting rights legislation. so in a letter that senator schumer sent to his colleagues this morning, he directly linked january 6th to republican legislatures across the country rolling back access to voting and also implementing partisan election officials and some critical positions in states across the country as well. but also in that letter, senator schumer talked about rules change in a more forceful way than he has before. previously he would just say it was an option that was on the table. in this letter he made the case for changing the rules in order for voting rights legislation to pass. and in making the case, he mentioned one critical senator, one that is no longer alive, the late senator robert byrd who senator manchin looked up to and was a mentor of his, and who manchin also points to as reason why he can't change the rules. well, in that letter senator schumer said robert byrd was an advocate of not operating a senate in the past, and changing things as necessary to move forward. and so like mike said, there is an audience of one on voting rights as well. but it's a little bit more complicated with voting rights, because there's also senator kyrsten sinema of arizona who has also resisted changing senate rules. she wants the 60 vote threshold in order to pass legislation. senator schumer is adamant that they are going to bring up a rules change on the floor if republicans continue to block legislation that all 50 democrats support as far as voting rights is concerned. >> leigh ann, quickly, let me ask you about the latest from the january 6th committee. important development in recent days. we learned they want to hear from some of their fellow lawmakers. we know that there have been clashes as they have tried to bring in former trump officials. is there any sense that that's going to be successful? what are you hearing? >> well, it's unclear if it's going to be successful, but we know there are more lawmakers the committee wants to hear from. they've asked for information from jim jordan and representative perry of pennsylvania. we expect more lawmakers to be added to the docket. we don't know if they're going to go further and subpoena jordan and perry. there could be a big battle ahead of -- as far as the committee is concerned and lawmakers and how they get their information. >> i think you're right about that. we are going to witness a lot more battles over who will and who will not come in and talk to the committee. carol, let me bring you in now. liz cheney shed some new light on what the committee has learned about former president trump's actions during the attack on the capitol. i want to play what she had to say and get your reaction on the other side. >> we are learning much more about what former president trump was doing while the violent assault was underway. the committee has firsthand testimony he was sitting in the dining room next to the evil office watching the attack -- oval office watching the attack as the assault on the capitol occurred. as he was sitting in the dining room next to the oval office, members of his staff were pleading with him to go on television and tell him to stop. we know leader mccarthy was pleading with him. we have firsthand testimony that his daughter, ivanka, went in at least twice to ask him to please stop this violence. >> really the first time that we heard someone invoke ivanka trump's name. carol, what is your reporting say about that and about those hours that passed while the former president was sitting in the oval office? >> it's an important moment to fix on, because what cheney is essential in saying is all this great reporting that's been done, "the washington post," on msnbc by some of your anchors and reporters, all of this has been verified and corroborated by firsthand testimony. so, in other words, witnesses to ivanka being drawn in to the oval office to plead with her father are now verified. they're almost what i would call sort of prosecutorable. something you could put in an indictment if that's what you were going to do. the important moment here is the verification that a ton of people who say on fox news or who say in punditry, the attack on the capitol were no big deal were personally pleading with donald trump to stop it, and he was not responding in any -- with any alarm or with any urgency. 187 minutes has been raised many times and now is, again, corroborated and -- by firsthand testimony from the committee. that's how long the president at the time of the insurrection sort of sat on his hands while people were being attacked. while police officers were having heart attacks and being stabbed with flag poles. the importance of this is showing what happened behind the scenes versus what people are touting on television today. especially on fox news and other punditry, conservative sites where people say january 6th wasn't violent. we weren't worried about it. it wasn't serious. this evidence shows they all believed it was very violent, very serious, and that the president at the time, donald trump, really did nothing when they were crying for his help. >> carol, it's such an important point, and carlos, i want to have you react to that, and also the fact that in the immediate aftermath of the attack on the capitol, you did have a number of republican lawmakers pushing back on former president trump. lindsey graham, kevin mccarthy, and they changed their tune in the weeks and months following that. what does it say about how much of an impact the former president still has on the party as we go into this critical year? >> that's why the committee's work is so important. it's reminding people why people like lindsey graham and mccarthy, like other republicans said this was unacceptable. but the truth is still today that donald trump dominates the republican party, and he continues fueling the lie that gave birth to all of this violence and destruction on the sixth of january. republicans are going to be pivoting. they don't want to be talking about this issue. they want to be talking about maybe the pandemic, maybe inflation. but they certainly don't want to talk about this, because the only legitimate reaction is the reaction that many of them had on the sixth of january. and on the seventh and eighth. of course, things changed. the former president came back on the scene. and everyone retreated. when it comes to this issue, there should be no retreating. there should be leadership, and at the very least, this committee's work is going to face republicans. it's going to force republicans to once again face what the whole country had to face on the sixth of january which was a deeply traumatic experience. what do you make of what the committee has produced so far? what are you expecting and anticipating and hoping to see from them in this year? this midterm election year? >> well, in terms of the public, i think the most valuable thing the committee has produced up to now is a complete picture. it's not yet complete. but an increasingly complete picture of what happened that day. and how certain people reacted. what people did, what they didn't do, what the president knew and what he failed to do, and what he did. that's what's most important here for the american people to have complete access to all of the facts, and complete access to the reactions of those who were part of this horrifying -- all the different characters, what they did, what they tried to do. this really will hopefully help us come to a common understanding in this country of everything we lost that day and perhaps even more importantly, what we could have lost that we didn't. >> yeah. carol, what are you expecting and anticipating to see from this committee as we head into this critical year? what are you going to be watching for? >> i think there are probably three important things. one is how the committee establishes its power. its aggressiveness to get to the bottom of who was foemting this, and what the president knew before and during the events. obviously we know more about the during than the before. how much did the president know going into it. the second thing i think we're going to be looking for are those public hearings. that congressman schiff mentioned could start in weeks rather than moths. those public hearings are essentially the powerful room into your living room, show the american people the story. real people, the firsthand witnesses explaining what happened. that's going to tell the story more powerfully than anything else the committee can do in writing. and then the third thing i think that's going to be really important is finding out whether or not the supreme court weighs in and donald trump is able to as he sought to for weeks and months, to block the committee from seeing presidential records, and also some records that should be preserved as presidential records but actually were on private g mail accounts and private cell phones. blocking those records from the committee. you know, the -- president biden has determined and he's the final determiner in many parts of that statute, he's determined that these things are not privileged. and now we'll have to see what the court decides to do. whether to weigh in, to block donald trump, or to block the committee. >> well, we all have a very busy 2022 ahead. appreciate you all starting us off this afternoon with a great conversation. mike, leigh ann, carol and carlos, thank you. up next, the investigation into the insurrection is increasingly focussed on what former trump did and did not do as the attack unfolded. we're going to talk to former impeachment manager, congressman ted lou. that's next. plus covid confusion amid changing guidance on isolation and quarantining, some kids go back to school in person while others are once again starting this year virtually as covid surges across the country. you're watching "meet the press daily". daily" with rybelsus®. the majority of people taking rybelsus® lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. wake up to the possibility of lower a1c with rybelsus®. you may pay as little as $10 for up to a 3-month prescription. ask your healthcare provider about rybelsus® today. new vicks vapostick. strong soothing vapors... help comfort your loved ones. for chest, neck, and back. it goes on clear. no mess just soothing comfort. try new vicks vapostick. thanks for coming. now when it comes to a financial plan this broker is your man. let's open your binders to page 188... uh carl, are there different planning options in here? options? plans we can build on our own, or with help from a financial consultant? like schwab does. uhhh... could we adjust our plan... ...yeah, like if we buy a new house? mmmm... and our son just started working. oh! do you offer a complimentary retirement plan for him? as in free? just like schwab. schwab! look forward to planning with schwab. moving is a handful. no kidding! fortunately, xfinity makes moving easy. easy? -easy? switch your xfinity services to your new address online in about a minute. that was easy. i know, right? and even save with special offers just for movers. really? yep! so while you handle that, you can keep your internet and all those shows you love, and save money while you're at it with special offers just for movers at xfinity.com/moving. how not to be a hero: because that's the last thing they need you to be. you don't have to save the day. you just have to navigate the world so that a foster child isn't doing it solo. you just have to stand up for a kid who isn't fluent in bureaucracy, or maybe not in their own emotions. so show up, however you can, for the foster kids who need it most— at helpfosterchildren.com what's left to do is lay out what we've been learning for the american people. there were several lines of effort to overturn the election. we hope to be able to tell the story of the country so that they understand it isn't just about that one day, january 6th. all that led up to it, what happened on that day, and the continuing danger going forward. >> welcome back, that's adam schiff yesterday talking about public hearings the committee hopes to begin in a matter of weeks. the committee has only held one such hearing so far and has not shown much of the work from their probe. democrats in congress are trying to figure out the broader 2022 agenda and what kind of role the committee might have in the messaging. joining us is a part of the investigation into the attack, congressman ted lieu. congressman, thank you for being here, and happy new year to you. >> thank you. happy new year to you and your viewers. >> let's start off with the committee and the work and what you heard from congressman adam schiff. are you satisfied that the january 6th committee has produced enough so far? >> the january 6th committee has done a terrific job. when i was on the house impeachment manager team, we had a lot of evidence about what the former president did in the months leading up to january 6th , what he had done that day. but we didn't have a lot of information on what happened during their attack while he was watching it on tv. and the january 6th committee is really getting into those details and telling the american people that basically he did nothing. and the reason he did nothing is because he wanted the attack to succeed. he wanted his former supporters to go as he said, fight like hell to nullify the election. that's why we need to pass voting rights in the united states senate as soon as possible. >> let me ask you about something we learned in recent days. bennie thompson says the committee is going to look into whether they have the authority to subpoena fellow house members to testify. do you think they do, and is that the direction they should be going in at this point? >> no one should be above the law. not the former president. not any members of congress. and if there is evidence of criminal conduct or information that the authorized house committee needs, then everyone should comply with a subpoena regardless of their status. >> let's talk about the midterm elections now. it comes as democrats are renewing their push to get voting laws passed. let me just play you something that was said on yesterday's "meet the press" and i want to get your reaction on the other side. >> if congress changes hands, and if republicans control both houses of congress after the next election, they'll be the ones in charge of counting the electoral votes, and there are greater -- there's greater willingness now in the state legislatures to do what was fundamental strategy, which was to induce republican controlled legislatures to throw away the votes of their own voters and substitute electors for trump. >> congressman lieu, is that how you see the stakes of november's midterm elections? >> absolutely. democracy itself is on the ballot this november. 147 republicans voted to not certify the electoral college results. and more than a year later, not a single one of them can identify who allegedly stole the election nor explain how it was done. that's because election was not stolen. donald trump got crushed in a popular vote. he lost the electoral college. and what we see are republican legislators trying to nullify the vote instead of adhering to our democracy. >> well, when you look at history, the only time a president's party has not lost seats in the house is when his approval rating has been above 60%. at this point in time, and we're still very early in 2022, president biden's approval rating is hovering in the mid to low 40s. so how concerned are you about that, and how do you turn it around? >> i would be concerned if we were in october right now, but we're not. we're at the beginning of a year, and if you look at what the biden administration has done, it's remarkable. we created over 5 million jobs since january 20th. jabless claim -- jobless claims are at a 50-year low. there was an infrastructure bill passed and the american rescue plan. there was a lot to run on this coming november. >> as you know, he's trying to get his build back better plan passed in this new year, and that comes after talks really brock apart with, of course, the critical vote with senator joe manchin just before the holiday. and the senator has reportedly said that he will not support build back better if it includes the child tax credit. which is expiring in a matter of weeks. my question for you, would you support build back better if it didn't include the child tax credit? >> i believe the house will pass what the senate passes. and i do believe a version of build back better will pass, and that's because overwhelming majority of the american people in poll after poll support the build back better act which is going to lead to lower elder care costs, and lower child care costs. >> the congressman, let me push you. are you willing to support it if it doesn't include the child tax credit? >> i will support what the u.s. senate passes back to the house in terms of build back better act, and whatever joe biden and joe manchin negotiate, whatever they agree to, i will support that. >> okay. congressman ted lieu, appreciate your time. thank you. >> thank you. coming up next, the fda just made a big move on booster shots as the messaging mess over covid continues with cases still spiking. and testing still hard to come by. you're watching "meet the press daily". press daily" voltaren is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory gel for powerful arthritis pain relief. voltaren, the joy of movement. healthier starts when excuses end. what? it's too windy. right now at cvs, get $10 in extrabucks rewards when you spend $30 on select wellness support products. with this offer, there's no room for excuses. superpowers from a spider bite? i could use some help showing the world how liberty mutual customizes their car insurance. ow! i'm ok! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ only in theaters december 17th. [ kimberly ] before clearchoice, my dental health was so bad i would be in a lot of pain. i was unable to eat. it was very hard. kimberly came to clearchoice with a bunch of missing teeth, struggling with pain, with dental disease. clearchoice dental implants solved her dental issues. [ kimberly ] i feel so much better. i feel energized to go outside and play with my daughter. i can ate anything. like, i don't have to worry. clearchoice changed my life. [music: sung by craig robinson] i can ate anything. like, i don't have to worry. ♪ i'm a ganiac, ganiac, check my drawers ♪ [sfx: sniffs / long exhale] ♪ and my clothes smell so much fresher than before ♪ ♪ yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ i'm a ganiac, ganiac, check my drawers ♪ ♪ it's a freshness like i've never smelled before ♪ one sniff of gain flings and you'll be a gainiac too! the only detergent with oxiboost and febreze. welcome back. the fda took a number of steps this morning to expand the availability of pfizer's booster shot to include children. everyone over the age of 12 who received who doses of pfizer's vaccine will be eligible for a third shot after five months instead of six. and a third dose of pfizer's vaccine was also authorized for immune compromised children between the ages of 5 and 11. this comes as millions of students head back to school today in the midst of a tidal wave of covid infections and a confusing patchwork of mixed messages and constantly changing policies. school vacations started two weeks ago. the average daily cases were more than three times lower than they are today. the daily case average has now surpassed 420,000. that means roughly five americans are testing positive every second. now dr. fauci says the cdc is once again considering changing the isolation and quarantine guidance for asymptomatic people after it was cut in half to five days. >> i believe that the cdc soon will be coming out with more clarification of that since it obviously has generated a number of questions about at that five-day period, should you or should you not be testing people? >> so you're saying yes, they should? >> there's clarification coming soon. i'm not saying yes, they should. i'm saying it's something that should be considered, and i believe the cdc is going to clarify that. >> joining me now from new york city where the country's largest public school system is welcoming kids back to class in person is ellison barber, and dr. blackstock, the founder and ceo of advancing health equity and a new york city school parent herself. welcome both of you. ellison, let me start with you. new york's schools returned from their break today. we're learning about this new approach that they have as covid outbreaks increase. if a student is in a classroom with close contact with someone with covid, they can return to the class? >> it's about increased testing. previously in new york city schools if a student tested positive for covid-19, any of their unvaccinated close contacts had to quarantine for ten days. that's no longer the case. if a student tests positive for covid-19, the teacher will distribute at-home rapid tests to the entire classroom, and then those students, if they do not test positive, they can keep coming to class as long as they also don't have any symptoms. they say they will need to take a covid test the first day after exposure and also on the fifth day. so the only person who would potentially have to quarantine for a ten-day period now would be if a student tests positive. there has also been weekly pcr testing in new york schools prior to now. the mayor, they said they're going to double that. that's something that parents if they want their children to be tested with those pcr tests during the week, it's something they have to opt in for, and so far there are a lot of students, a lot of parents who have not opted in for that option. so what do new yorkers think about this? there's mixed reaction from staff, teachers, students, and their parents. we spoke to one mom this morning who told us she doesn't really feel comfortable sending her children back to school right now, given that less than half of children in new york city who are eligible to be vaccinated less than half of them are fully vaccinated right now. but she told us she also doesn't have any other options. here's more of what we've heard. >> if i do feel safe bringing her to school, but it's still scary. she's very small. social distancing, you know, it's not something that they really know what to do. we've been through this for almost two years now. so i think we have to learn to live with it. we can limit our children. we have to give them back a normal life. >> i feel like it's because of the surge, they should go back to the remote learning option. you know, just tentatively speaking until the spikes are down. so everybody can be pretty much safe. >> reporter: this is the nation's largest school district with 1.1 million students and about 1800 schools. >> all right. ellison barber, great interviews there. really appreciate it. dr. blackstock, let me bring you in as a doctor and parent. do you feel safe sending your kids to school in new york under these new guidelines? >> well, thanks for having me. listening to the parents made me emotional. i dropped off my two children this morning. they attend new york city public schools. we're taking it one day at a time. i decided to send them today based on my conversations with their principal and assistant principal and the resources they have available at their school. but obviously i was still very concerned. both my children are fully vaccinated. but the fact is that community transmission levels are very high. and we know when that's high, that leads to cases and potential outbreaks within the school as well. i need to think about the fact that yes, a multilayered strategy involving masks, ventilation, and testing, that's effective. but how many schools, especially public schools, have their resources to make that happen? >> is there more that you think that schools and new york schools in particular, should and can be doing? do you think they should consider going back to virtual learning in the short-term at least to allow this omicron surge to pass? >> you know, i think when there is a surge like we're seeing right now, and this is pretty unprecedented in terms of cases, i think there should be a remote learning option. i do think that there are many parents who don't feel comfortable sending their children home, but they may not have child care or people at home to watch their kids. it's obviously very complicated. but i do think that remote learning in the instance where there are surges, as there are in this case, it should be an option, and people talk about classroom disruptions. but the fact is that if kids stay in school longer and there's an outbreak, there are going to be classroom disruptions. it's better that we stay home, it's like a circuit breaker. it doesn't have to be for a long period of time. it could be for a week or two weeks until we see cases trending back down. >> let me ask you about what we heard from dr. fauci over the weekend. he basically said that we can expect a clarification on the cdc's quarantine guidelines. they just cut their quarantine guidelines in half, saying that people who have been tested positive or exposed only need to stay home five days as long as they're asymptomatic. dr. fauci saying now they're considering a negative test at the end of that time period. what do you make of that, and do you think that a negative test should be necessary? >> i do it should be necessary. i think perfect is the enemy of good. i think that was the reason why in the first place the cdc did not recommend the test, because rapid tests we know are not widely available. but the fact is that if we implement a policy, the policy should be evidence-based. and we know that having those rapid tests, there is another layer of protection. not just for a worker returning to work, but those around that worker. we don't want people to return to work and have the ability to infect other people, so that rapid test criteria should have been in place from the beginning. and that's why the cdc received that backlash. i think the backlash was incredibly justifiable. we need to make sure if we're sending people back to work, they're no longer contagious. >> doctor blackstock, to do you worry some of the confusion may be hampering the biden administration's ability to get out a clear message and to allow states, quite frankly, to combat covid? >> absolutely. the messaging has been off for quite a while. i thought with the change of the guard earlier in 2021 that we would see more clear messaging, but it's been off. it's been very personal responsibility individualistic focussed as opposed to emphasizing that a collective response is needed to end this pandemic, and i think in all, especially this last policy update with the isolation guidelines, it actually undermines the public trust, because people wonder who is influencing the cdc. is it political interest, economic interest or public health? and so i think we need a reset. we need a reset, and we need to earn the public's trust again. the cdc is -- there are career scientists and public health leaders there. we need to see the great work they're doing. unfortunately, that's not really coming out that clearly in the last year. >> really appreciate your insights this hour, dr. blackstock. thank you so much. and ellison, thank you for your great reporting. appreciate it. up next, air travel and covid combined. moving many holiday travelers stranded because of pandemic-related staff shortages. you're watching "meet the press daily". ♪ got my hair ♪ ♪ got my head ♪ ♪ got my brains ♪ ♪ got my ears ♪ ♪ got my heart ♪ ♪ got my soul ♪ ♪ got my mouth ♪ ♪ i got life ♪ you're a one-man stitchwork master. but your staffing plan needs to go up a size. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire at fidelity, your dedicated advisor will help you create a comprehensive wealth plan for your full financial picture. with the right balance of risk and reward. so you can enjoy more of...this. this is the planning effect. welcome back. the airline industry today is battling the one-two punch of surging covid cases and extreme weather conditions keeping airline crews off of planes and stranding holiday passengers. over 2700 flights were cancelled sunday alone bringing the holiday total of cancelled flights since christmas eve to over 15,000. morgan chesky is in dallas with the latest. and morgan, look, the holidays are over, but the holiday travel disruptions, the headaches are ongoing. what are folks telling you they're dealing with as they try to return home? >> reporter: a little bit of everything. the omicron variant is impacting staffing with airlines and tsa. at last check about 1700 tsa agents had covid-19. many of them likely with the omicron variant. and you're coupling that with the blast of winter weather that's made travel treacherous in the areas. at chicago o'hare, hundreds of cancellations at midway. about 70 due to snowy conditions there. all of this having a trickle down impact for anyone traveling by air and for those on the roads. that's why if you are flying this year, aaa has this piece of advice. take a listen. >> i think the wild card all along has been covid. omicron threw a wrench into everybody's plans. don't skip that box for flight insurance anymore. get flight insurance. if it's a big trip, get trip insurance. the days of foregoing trip insurance, those days are over. you need trip insurance now. >> and i think an important note here is the fact that sunny conditions right now in dallas, a lot of people showing up thinking their flights should be just fine. because there is that chain reaction, many people are finding their flight is cancelled and/or delayed. make sure you double, triple check before you arrive. we have heard horror stories of people having to make significant drives back home because airlines aren't offering rebookings. if you do have a cancelled flight, make sure you remember you are entitled to a full cash refund. >> really great advice, and good tips. morgan chesky, happy new year to you. thank you for that report. appreciate it. coming up next, it's not just president biden's agenda that's in limbo as democrats debate the party's messaging strategy heading into this year's midterm elections. you're watching "meet the press daily". outhwatering explosion of yes. craft? yes! heartiness? yes! living life to the flavor-fullest? heck yes. panera. live your yes. now $1 delivery. maybe it's another refill at your favorite diner... or waiting for the 7:12 bus... or sunday afternoon in the produce aisle. these moments may not seem remarkable. but at pfizer, protecting the regular routine, and everyday drives us to reach for exceptional. working to impact hundreds of millions of lives... young and old. it's what we call, the pursuit of normal. ♪ ♪ thanks for bringing me with you guys today, mr. and mrs. lopez. not a problem, josh. hey, you two. check out all these camera views in my silverado i can see in front of me, behind me, on either side of me. and it has this cam, so i can see if there's any funny business going on. you see any funny business going on? no, sir. let's have a great day! the chevy silverado offers eight cameras with up to 15 different views. find new views. find new roads. chevrolet. i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance with up to 15 different views. through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for free information and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling. so call now for free information. new vicks vapostick. strong soothing vapors... help comfort your loved ones. for chest, neck, and back. it goes on clear. no mess just soothing comfort. try new vicks vapostick. hi, i'm debra. i'm from colorado. i've been married to my high school sweetheart for 35 years. i'm a mother of four-- always busy. i was starting to feel a little foggy. just didn't feel like things were as sharp as i knew they once were. i heard about prevagen and then i started taking it about two years now. started noticing things a little sharper, a little clearer. i feel like it's kept me on my game. i'm able to remember things. i'd say give it a try. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. welcome back. this new year is presenting many of the same challenges for the white house in terms of passing the president's agenda. as we mentioned earlier this hour, senate majority leader chuck schumer is pressing forward with voting rights legislation. meanwhile, senator joe manchin has opposed changes to the filibuster and announced his opposition to the build back better plan last month. he's apparently willing to return to negotiations but it's still not clear what he will support. with me now is jennifer palmieri who served as the white house communications director during the obama administration. jen, it's great to see you. happy new year. thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me, welker. >> you have build back better, you have voting rights. a lot of people are scratching their heads and saying, look, if the president couldn't get joe manchin on board in 2021, why will 2022 be any different? >> i think if you -- i would say to the biden white house right now, step back and look at what this congress got done in the past year and what does that tell you about what it's capable of doing in 2022. so it passed the american rescue plan, the bipartisan infrastructure bill. it was tough but it was able to avoid some of the crises like debt limits even with the support of some republicans. it had a very productive year. the american rescue plan and the bipartisan infrastructure bill were the most significant bills that were passed in the last 11 years. the last time we passed something that was in the same universe was in 2010 with the aca. as difficult as it's been, congress has done something and manchin has shown willingness to come back to the table. it's likely, given the track record and what's at stake, they'll be able to deliver something significant with build back better. you've got to look at this year as what can you get done by the fall because the fall is near to the midterms. >> i've been talking to some folks in the white house and on capitol hill, democrats are scratching their heads saying, how are we going to get voting rights passed when that's the tougher hurdle to get done? >> i think they're probably looking at this week, january 6th, as the best opportunity to raise it as an issue. and make a decision that we're going to strike, we're going to strike now. schumer put that letter out earlier today, it said we're going to take action by january 17th. and i think they've decided their best window for acting is to put a clock on it and make it urgent. and the january 6th insurrection anniversary gives you the best opportunity to make it urgent. i think that's probably right. and the other big thing that will happen in january or maybe early february is the biden state of the union. and, you know, if i were in the white house, that's what my focus would be. you've got to deal with omicron and all your day to day crises, but focus on the state of the union as your opportunity to lay out for the congress, the american people, what you want to get done on covid, on the economy, particularly kitchen table issues, they're doing that today with their focus on inflation, cost of meat and poultry, on economic issues, covid, and then democracy. i think for the country, for democrats, those are the three big issues. and, you know, use that, if you do the state of the union right, it's not just a speech, it's an action plan for the congress and the administration for the year. january 17th is the deadline for voting rights. that's followed with the state of the union, that gives biden an opportunity to reset for the year what they want to get done and make that argument to the congress and the american people. >> let me follow up with you with one of the points that you raised, jen, which is the fact that you do have the president holding that event today on the white house, focused on the price of meat and poultry has inflation has been soaring. if you look at the actual action plan, it doesn't seem as though anything that the president is proposing would have an impact for at least the next six months or so. is their policy and is their message strong enough, are people getting it? because we're coming off a holiday where a lot of folks paid more for that christmas meal they just had, for christmas presents. this is a big issue for americans. >> yeah, and it's not one and done, right? first of all, taking actions now that take effect six months from now, that still matters, right? if you were the white house right now, what you are thinking is, you know, in terms of moving the president's approval ratings, in terms of dealing with these big problems, i'm looking at the fall, okay? so what can we be doing now to deal with problems, also there is political benefit to them, and if it takes six months, it takes six months, that's how long it takes to correct these problems, but let the american people know you're focused on it. so do this today, stay at it, be out there multiple times each week with the message of inflation and what they intend to do. you've got to actually deal with the problem, you've got to make sure people understand that you're focused on it. and, you know, if their assumptions are right, they believe that the economy is going to get better, they believe the supply chain problems are going to be worked out. they think that inflation is going to be more under control and be in a better position in the fall. if that is right, they will be, you know, in a much better place politically. things are hard, they are historically hard, but they will be in a good position to fight. >> jen palmieri, no one knows tough fights on capitol hill or the campaign trail better. really appreciate you joining us this hour, and your insights. >> a pleasure. and thank you for being with us this hour. chuck will be back tomorrow with more "meet the press daily." msnbc coverage continues with my friend katy tur after a very quick break. ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. 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. emerge tremfyant® with tremfya®... ask you doctor about tremfya® today. good to be with you. i'm katy tur. we have breaking news from the fda. kids ages 12 to 15 can now get a pfizer booster shot and so can immunocompromised kids between 5 and 11. for everyone else who has the pfizer vaccine, you are now eligible for a booster five months after your second shot, not just six.