marriages and now the attorney general, eric holder, says the federal government will recognize the marriages that were performed during the 17-day period in utah after a federal judge declared the state's ban unconstitutional and the u.s. supreme court put a hold on that judge's ruling. what the attorney general says in a statement that's just out, he says, these families, referring to those who got marriage licenses during that 17-day period, these families should not be asked to endure uncertainty regarding their status as the litigation unfolds. he says in the days ahead, we will continue to coordinate across the federal government to ensure the timely provision of every federal benefit to which utah couples and couples throughout the country are entitled regardless of whether they are in same sex or opposite sex marriages. it was just monday that the supreme court said put a hold on the judge's order and after that, the state governor's chief of staff put out a memo

instructing the state to take no further action recognizing those marriages. that created a question about what the legal status of those marriages were in terms of the federal government. now we know the answer, the federal government will recognize those marriages so those people in utah, roughly 1,000 or so couples will be able to take advantage of federal benefits while this case is on appeal. >> and pete, thank you for that update. in terms of things like, i don't know filing income taxes, et cetera, it's essential you have couples who on their federal returns will be able to file married filed jointly. how does that get resolved? >> that's exactly right. of course, before the supreme court earlier this year decided the case of the windsor case, striking down a section of the defense of marriage act, it was just the opposite for many state couples. they were married for purposes of their state income taxes but not their federal income taxes.

now we'll have the reverse for this period in utah until this whole thing gets resolved by the appeals court. it will be argued next month in the tenth circuit and then at some point, some case on same-sex marriage will get to the u.s. supreme court and it will decide this issue. >> back to the supreme court we go. thank you so much. nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. >> turning to the christie crisis, chris christie is playing the victim, responding to smoking gun e-mails linking members of his senior staff to a plan to shut down four lanes of the busiest bridge in the world, the garden state governor took full responsibility yesterday, while simultaneously throwing his staffers and former campaign manager under the proverbial bus. in a 100 plus marathon press conference, he announced the termination of bridget anne kelly and perhaps in a more

notable but critically underdiscussed move he ended the career of his strongman bill step yan, sla slated to be advio the national governor's association was asked to remove his name from consideration for both posts. he denied involvement or knowledge of the closures. >> i apologize to the people of ft. lee and the members of the state legislature. there's no justification for that behavior. there's no justification for ever lying to a governor or a person in authority in this government. i had no knowledge or involvement in this issue in its planning or execution. and i'm stunned by the abject

stupidity that was shown here -- >> stunned. abject stupidity. he may not be aware of the lane closure scheme, but what we do know is chris christie has built his entire career off of hardball politics. the politics of a you cross me, you pay the price. those are the tactics that were on display from his staff during the september traffic jam, when thousands of commuters were stuck on the george washington bridge. >> we fell short of the expectations we created over the last four years for the type of excellence in government that they should expect from this office. >> right, but as we will discuss, political retaliation is exactly what people should expect from christie. he gave a great performance but it was just that. christie's actual trip to ft. lee to apologize for the traffic jam caused another traffic jam. joining me today, alex sites

wald, house of disrupt, and political columnist and co-author of chris christie, the inside story of his rise to power bob ingall and jonathan capehart, who wrote one of my favorite columns, me, me mea culpa. >> bob, you literally wrote the book. >> right. >> one of the things he went to say was this was really not the way he operates or the culture he sought to engender as governor or in his previous roles in government. is that true? is this his m.o. or not? >> you were right first time. he plays hardball. and he's not the only politician who does it but he has a reputation for playing hardball. it depends on your definition of bully, since the book came out people have been asking if he's a bully. that depends on where you're coming from and your experience in that realm. i don't know if i can label him a bully but he certainly plays

hardball. >> to give a couple of examples. this is not the first time that we've had the sort of allegation of bully boy tactics let's just say on the part of christie, in april the former governor of the state, richard cody, now a state senator, accused christie of using the judicial appointments as a pawn to gain support for appointees to other commissions like the mosquito control commission. >> not petty at all. >> three days after use of bully boy tactics, mr. cody walking out of an event in newark and gets a call from the superintendent informing him he would no longer be afforded the trooper who accompanied him. that same day his cousin, who had been appointed by jim mcgreevey to the port authority of new york and new jersey was fired as was a close friend and deputy chief of staff then working for the state office of consumer affairs. essentially that type of pelty retaliation against you and your

cousin, apparently was part of his m.o. >> that was one of the most telling moments in that 90-minute, two-hour extravaganza, when he was asked about, don't you have some concern about the culture that would have been created? at first he basically well, no, i just know it's not true. that was so blatantly, this is a man in denial and trying to have it both ways. it's very clear on the one hand he built the reputation as not a bully as he would say. he says he's not but playing hardball politics because it's not bean bag, of course. on the other hand, now he's trying to have it both ways and say, there's no reason anybody should lie to me. no reason anybody should behave this way on my staff. >> thags the lie to me part which gets to your column, christie did center a lot of this on me. they lied to me and i'm hurt, i'm wounded. and really sort of refocused the outrage on himself. >> on himself. here's the thing.

i thought his prepared remarks were pitch perfect for someone who's falling on the sword begging for forgiveness. it was fantastic. the moment the q and a started and the longer it went, the more and more the chris christie we all know and talked about came through, to the point where at one point he's asked about 2016 and starts, i mean, it's too early to tell and these other things, instead of saying, this is not about 2016. this is about today and those people who were harmed and inconvenienced by the idiots on my staff, however he wants to say it. but he didn't do that. he didn't talk about the little girl who was lost, the 91-year-old woman who went into cardiac arrest then died, the thousands upon thousands of people who were late for work or couldn't get to work. school children stuck on school buses, none of that concern for those people in those situations came through in the 107 minutes he stood there. >> what is fascinating, what he had done to propel himself to be

the ahead of the republican governor's association and human embodiment of this rebrand of the republican party was exactly that in the sandy aide situation he appeared to put politics aside on behalf of the people of new jersey. all of his umbrage was directed on behalf of the people of new jersey. that was sort of missing. >> do you suppose he was trying to build a case for he was a victim as well? >> i think so, the primary victim apparently. >> it worked well with the sandy stuff you mentioned. everyone felt he was suffering a long with them. perhaps he felt that he could show that he had been hurt as well. >> there's an incredible moment that seems a textbook definition, where he refers to himself as a candidate, i mean governor -- governor. it's clear he's already thinking about 2016 or as his role nationally but even in the 107 minute press conference, there's so many questions left unanswered and we'll keep digging on this and all of these things in christie's past, water

under the bridge to use the metaphor, they will be dug back up and that's going to be big trouble. >> including the sandy aid, which is a whole other story. that brings up a good point. in doubledown mark halperin and john heilemann, there's things in christie's path that made him unacceptable to the romney campaign. inspector generals investigation of his spending patterns and worked as a lobbyist on behalf of the securities industry. there was the christie decision to steer hefty government contracts to donors, defamation lawsuit. all of these things that got buried in the whole sandy experience. do we now expect, bob, the new jersey press to go back and start to reexamine the things, even the things written about in your book? >> my book was everything you just talked about. people weren't paying that much

attention to it. everything that he's been involved in, including automobile accidents is in my book. so are we going to go back? we're always examining, maybe we'll pay closer attention now. it was after all jersey publications that made this a national story and did a terrific job with it. i think we'll stay on top of it and people will maybe pay more attention now. >> after the break we'll go into more his troubles, they are spreading beyond the garden gate. skepticism is growing within his own party. how republicans are responding to the christie crisis next on "now." [ male announcer ] the new new york is open. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it.

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if it wasn't the endorsement question that motivated the people who did this to ft. lee, what was it? tuesday, august 12th, 2013, late in the day, the governor blows

up at senate democrats and yanks the judgeship of a supreme court justice and calls the democrats animals not just a justice he admires and republican on the state supreme court, it is the wife of one of his key staffers, he is outraged at senate democrats. late in the day, august 12th, and it is the next morning at 7:34 in the morning on august 13th, that his deputy chief of staff gives the go ahead to the port authority, time for some traffic problems in ft. lee. go to the list of legislative districts for the state of new jersey, find ft. lee. ft. lee, district 37. who represents district 37? they have two members of the state assembly and the leader of the senate democrats. leader of the senate democrats represents ft. lee. roughly 12 hours after governor christie blows up at the senate

democrats and pore patorpedos t career of a supreme court justice because the democrats are animals and he won't let justice loose to those animals. the leader sees her district, her district, get the order of destruction from governor christie's deputy chief of staff. or maybe it was about that endorsement. until someone who knows the actual truth about this speaks, it remains a wide open question. and maybe the key to this whole story. >> that was rachel maddow, offering another example of chris christie wrath and possible alternate explanation for bridgegate. okay, bob, going right to you on this. >> back to me on this. >> i had to right that damned book. >> absolutely. was that plausible in your view? >> i wrote a book called the soprano state, about the corruption and high jinkz that goes on in new jersey politics.

the publisher made me say numerous times i'm not making this up because weird stuff like that does happen. what i don't understand is how anybody can make the connection, okay, they are unhappy with wine berg and those other people so we'll close down the george washington bridge, won't she be sorry? did they think she was going to drive across it every day? what was that about. anything in new jersey is possible as long as you're willing to understand -- i'm not making this up. it can happen. >> is it plausible that the passion to get at whoever it was that perhaps chris christie was anoil nowed at would em nature from the port authority rather than the campaign staff and campaign manager or staff side within the christie administration. >> i was surprised that the answer to that memo that you just had was okay, or understood or honored or whatever it was he

said. how often does a low level person send you a memo and you understand what they are talking about? it's almost as if this plan had been in the works for some time and it's ready to go now, it's d day, let's do it. i don't know but -- that was -- if jonathan had isn't me a note said it's time to cause traffic problems in washington. jonathan, what in the hell are you talking about? >> that's the issue. it did seem there was assymetric tri between the question and answer. >> the think that i found most fascinating in all of this. she sent that at 7:34. he responded at 7:35 to get to your point, they knew what the other was talking about. there was no, what do you mean or waiting a while to responds, what's up with this? no, it was got it. then all hell broke loose. let's pay attention to when, september -- was it 9th, 10th, september 11th and 12th u.

you're going to jam up the busiest bridge on the anniversary of the one of the worst attacks in the united states? well -- >> you can't make this up. >> the thing is if you work in politics you know there is a lot of passion that develops among staff. on the political side just looking -- that the principle may not share to the same agree, that people sort of see vendettas it is a stupid thing to do, rga finance here saying why would anyone do this. >> but here's the thing, yes but no. it is highly unlikely -- there have -- i've been in administrations where there's a lot of passion and the principal has a sense of what's going on. the idea that he had no idea was blindsided, that's very hard to believe. my -- in politics, what tends to happen is that the principle sort of wants plausible deniability and staff will maybe protect the principal for that

purpose. but it's highly unlikely and secondly, that a communications director would not give your boss a head's up that a block buster story like that was coming and be surprised while you're standing in your robe and bathroom? no, no, no. that is 101. >> 36 hours before, kinds of hard to tell. >> exactly. that's not -- all of those things, just in terms of in political behavior and being a staff person, just -- >> there's no such thing as government secrecy. we can find out just about anything we need to find out. so it was very hard to think that just two people in that administration in trenton knew what was going on and maybe somebody at the port authority but he said that he fired that woman kelly because he asked the staff to speak up if they knew anything and she didn't say anything so she was fired. you're absolutely right. there were other people who knew about that. why haven't they been fired? >> then the other question going to the sort of larger

implications for christie, he did also cashier his campaign manager bill stepian, who has implications for the rga, et cetera and begs the question, that's a lot closer, miss kelly sort of a lower level person. this is a right hand guy. what does that say about him in terms of politics and is that the more dangerous avenue? >> this is as close to christie as you can get. the other shoe will drop eventually. there's so many questions left unanswered. why did he accept the resignation of two officials if he was later blindsided -- >> did he ask why they were resigning? >> no, he didn't. a former prosecutor locked away terrorists but he can't get to the bottom of a scandal under his own nose? come on. he's still talking about the traffic study which the head of the port authority said there was no traffic study. yesterday maybe there was a traffic study. you don't know if there was a traffic study or not? too weird. >> didn't ask about it. bob, you do have the possibility

of now you have a class action lawsuit and that means discovery and then you have a potential federal investigation as well. >> yes. >> where could be the next shoe to drop in terms of christie on this? >> if they ever find out he in fact played a role in this and they can prove it, that's the end of his political career. he probably wouldn't even finish the term he just won because it means he would have no credibility. so the -- there's got to be some concern about that. but i think that it's going to go on for a while. there are going to be investigations. this is getting a lot of attention. the democrats love it. the press loves a good investigation. you know, this is going to go on for a while. it's not going to go away. >> don't we think that some of these -- we saw the one man yesterday claiming the fifth even to a question of is it a text message or e-mail. >> who did you work for? >> these four individuals who have now been fired or left, you have to wonder, what do they

have? to your point, investigations are coming. they've got to protect their own hides and don't have the protection of the governor. did they keep a little insurance for themselves and what will the price be to see that information? >> jonathan, there's a little bit of froid going on among christie's political enemies. you've had people come out and say christie has gone out of his way to be unkind to other republicans, to not be helpful to the 2012 reelect. does that endanger him within the state? anybody who may feel they've been the subject of political bullying is another potential witness against christie. >> sure, the new york times on christmas eve ran a story that sort of cataloged some of the petty things that he has done. you mentioned the governor cody thing, that was in that story. there's some other things, don't forget the assembly woman

governor called a jerk because she raised questions about chopper gate. >> taking the official chopper to his son's baseball game. >> and withgiuliani who defende christie on "morning joe". >> and his character is still sterling. >> i have not heard of any other high profile republicans stepping forward to defend this guy. >> i think john mccain has given him his back to him a little bit. there is a little bit but he's not exactly in the mainstream of the base of the republican party, which is really the challenge for chris christie, he was not exactly popular there. >> no, the base of the republican party views him as a rhino republican in name only for a whole host of reasons. they don't think he's a conservative. what he did with president obama in the closing days -- >> the hugging. >> of the campaign, with sandy hook, to them, that he's dead to them. >> this is why this is particularly bad for christie more than some other candidate.

christie needs the establishment republicans and whole game plan for winning the nomination is to have the aura of electability, he knows he won't get the grass root support. they are going to pay attention and remember this. this could be bad news for him. >> the ability for christie to have himself imposed upon the republican base the way romney did, that imperiled by the scandal? >> if you were a republican governor and he's ahead of the rga, do you want to be seen with him at the fundraiser right now? probablelet not. it damages his ability -- he was hoping would be part of the pathway to the nomination, go around and help raise money and be seen with republican governors. i think it's going to be interesting to see -- i wonder what the schedule is and how many cancellations we might see in the coming weeks. i have a scheduling conflict, don't think i can have you in the state that day. >> i believe south carolina nikki hailey might be a person

that is team christie on this. south carolina very important to the schedule in the nominating process. so she may be the only person accepting those callback invitations. interesting sort of thing. she's not exactly popular either. how do people begin to line up politically to take advantage of this with christie? >> to take advantage of his -- >> where do you line up? if you're lindsay graham, it it important to stick it to christie or be a team player and make this about barack obama or irs? >> if i were lindsay graham, i would stay away from it. don't see mention him. just run your race, because he's got -- he might have a difficult race being re-elected in south carolina, but leave him alone. >> he came out and was pretty negative about christie, which is, again, to your point, that's the political calculation republicans are going to be making particularly when you think about the base of the party if you're in a tough re-election, how is this going to help me with the folks who

see him as a rhino if i distance myself, might be better than not. >> the wife is right. >> as usual. >> thanks so much for being here. >> my pleasure. >> we'll continue our coverage of the chris christie scandal that led to the lane closings on the george washington bridge. andrea will interview loretta wine berg who represents ft. lee, new jersey. it's worse than you think. target releasing new data on just how many customers had their personal information stolen during the holiday shopping season. that is next on "now." if i can impart one lesson to a

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just moments ago we learned that the massive credit card breach at target stores over the holiday season was much worse than originally thought. target has revealed up to 110 million customers may have had their information stolen. nearly three times the number that the company previously

reported. in addition to the credit card and debit card information, stolen data could include names and e-mail addresses and phone numbers. target will offer one year of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection with more details to come next week. they reiterated the victims of the breach are not libel for any fraudulent charges. after the break, as a growing number of americans struggle to make ends meet, the number of millionaires in congress is rising. we'll talk to john harwood about the new analysis that shows more than half of the members of congress belong to the millionaires club. we'll ask about today's unemployment numbers. don't forget, alex will be back on monday at her new time slot. "now" is moving to 4:00 p.m. eastern 1:00 pacific on msnbc. [ male announcer ] the new new york is open. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state.

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economy added 74,000 jobs in december, a number far below expectations, while at the same time the unemployment rate ticked down to 6.7%. conflicting economic signs that had economists doubting the 74,000 -- >> the number was so low it's not consistent with all of the other economic data that we're getting. all of the surveys have been much stronger and retailing has been good. vehicle sales, it doesn't make sense. i'm not paying attention to it at all. >> still, far too many americans are hurting and for the long term unemployed, congress isn't coming to the rescue any time soon. republicans and democrats have been unable to agree on how to pay for an extension of long term unemployment benefits. extending the fight into another week, that's right, members of congress over half of whom we learned this week are milli millionaires will further delay emergency assistance to an economy where jobs outnumber job seekers 3 to 1. this comes as two parties continue to debate who has the best solutions to tackle the

nation's 15% post ert rate. the creation of five economic promise zones that will receive targeted help to develop housing and job training and education and to reduce crime. hours later, paul ryan was the latest 2016 hopeful to layout his anti-poverty vision. -- sorry, he sat down with nbc's brian williams and if you guessed it, it involved spending lesson anti-poverty programs, you are correct. >> we throw in so much add it that we're measuring our poverty fighting based upon how much money we spend, not on outcomes and how many people we get out of poverty. that's part of the problem with the federal approach. >> and that came a day after marco rubio's address contained ideas about wage subsidies that some on the left characterize as not totally crazy. "washington post" says, the key cause of poverty people don't

have enough money until republicans are willing to grapple with that fact, they will have no agenda worthy of the name. so that is the problem in the end, jonathan capehart, is that republicans understand poverty exists and poverty exists because people don't have enough money, but republicans oppose anything that would actually give people more money. >> right. >> how does this work in terms of anti-poverty, do we take the republicans at their word and take seriously the notion they want to grapple with poverty. >> you can't take them seriously. they have to back it up with serious ideas and you said senator rubio just now had some ideas or that the left doesn't think are totally crazy, but i think the problem that the republicans have, they are so fixated on this idea that democrats, progressives and liberals are all about redistributing wealth and taking money away from people and giving it to the undeserving when they don't realize that --

i think they get clouded by the phrase income inequality when they really should be focused on the phrase economic insecurity. there are people who were once in the middle class who dropped in -- dropped into being poor because the 2008 financial crisis and until they realize that there are a whole lot of people, whole lot more people who are economically insecure and are depending on that unemployment extension, who are depending on maybe the minimum wage being raised, they are not going to reach those people and their ideas such as they are, rfrnt goi aren't going to go anywhere. >> the key to undoing this is to create more employment. i want to bring in jonathan harwood. in backing up on this discussion of poverty and unemployment, the new numbers that came out, the $74,000 employment figure for december, did appear to some to be an outliar, are you in the

camp of the mark zandy's to say it's not to be believed. >> i wouldn't say it's not to be believed at all. we've seen revisions going up in jobs numbers over the last couple of years but i do think it's something that will likely influence the debate somewhat on unemployment insurance. i think in the end the chances are that unemployment insurance will not be extended, but i think the chances improve slightly because of that number. i also think it influences the debate on minimum wage and the idea that minimum wage increase, which i think has a better chance than extended unemployment benefits, i think that has got a little juice from those poor numbers. >> talk about the economic consequences of not extending unemployment insurance. as you say it is unlikely for that to happen, what is the ripple effect on the economy? >> well, it -- the multiplier effect you get of putting money in people's pockets and if they don't have a lot.

it doesn't take there long. that money circulates within the economy. but i think it's difficult for democrats to muster the will to push that over the finish line, given the longer term improvement we've seen in the economy, there's a sense that the economy is not in crisis recovery mode. it is now in growth mode although again as i say, those numbers -- those job creation numbers were something that put a little cold water on that idea. >> that figure that really did seem to be well below expectations, does that hurt or help the democrat's case for extending unemployment benefits. >> regardless of what the numbers are, it should help the case. they should feel confident being on offense and figuring out whatever trick they have to do to make it happen, that is my frustration, when you talk to democratic members of congress, on the house side, they feel like there's not really that much options in terms of getting something through. and i think regardless, they need to stay on offense and shame the republicans, but i

want to go back to the original point. part of the problem we have, we're taking this piecemeal approach to the conversation. that is part of the republican strategy, democrats and progressives tend to talk about a holistic. when you cut head start, that means that child that would be in head start, the parent now has to figure out, i have to have child care, that cost money. that's time your not out looking for a job. if you cut food stamps, that means people aren't eating and cut the unemployment insurance. we need to take a more holistic approach and republicans are trying to message it to pieces because they've looked at polling data and say, we've got to start talking about poor people rather than understanding that these programs need to actually fit together, which is part of what i thought was powerful about the president's idea, which is let's take a holistic approach and see what's the problem in this community. part of it is crime and part of it is jobs and part of it is transportation, what have you, and figuring out how to put a program together that actually takes a holistic approach rather than the republicans who have

absolutely no idea how people live their lives. >> and it's interesting because what republicans do seem to want to do is block granting, instead of taking a holistic approach, let's turn over blocks of money to the state and let each state take the approach that karen talked about specific to their own population. we do have data that talks about whether or not that works. jared bernstein looked at that and looked at something like snap, which sort of stayed the same overtime. that doesn't rise and fall with the changes in the economy. whereas things like the blue line, that's the blue line -- but other sort of nonblock granted programs actually rise and fall. unemployment insurance, things like tan i have, they shift with the economy. does it have an economic underpinning that makes sense? >> sort of. the problem is republicans only

have one idea and can only have one idea, to reduce the size of government. they are trying to find any way to solve poverty or address poverty while keeping with that. this is one day of doing that, reduces the size of the federal government. their goal is to preserve, not help poor people. >> as a political matter, jonathan, do republicans need to change their minds or is it talk to get it off the table for 2014? >> they have a whole lot to do to help themselves and to come up with the program. they've ticked off women, young people, gays and lesbians and people of color, economically insecure until they realize they have to have real ideas that speak to all of those constituency, politically, they are nowhere. >> all right, thanks very much, also jonathan harwood for this discussion. thanks a lot. >> the federal reserve is so engrained in her career dna she even met her husband in the fed cafeteria and now about to run

the whole thing. we'll discuss the woman gracing the cover of "time" magazine janet yellen, just ahead.

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with 20% fewer calories than purina dog chow. isn't it time you discovered the lighter side of dog chow. purina dog chow light & healthy. she's just been given the keys to the world's largest economy, but janet yellen has reform on her mind of the we'll discuss the 34 year veteran next. hey guys! sorry we're late. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets.

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this week, janet yellen, the woman who will lead the federal reserve as of february 1st, graces the cover of "time" as the $16 trillion woman. the dmun tif yellen smiles often and comes across as something like your favorite aunt. if you're aunt had a chair with her own brass name plate in the

middle of the 22-foot long board of governors conference table. with the country faced sustained unemployment and ongoing need for wall street regulation and sluggish economic growth, yellen's job will not be an easy one. unlike previous chairman of the fed whose eye remained on inflation, the top priority is bringing down unemployment and fixing the every day economy, not a small undertaking. in the coming months and years, yellen may need to work hard to keep her smile. and joining us now is assistant managing editor, who interviewed janet yellen. the numbers that came out today, the 74,000 jobs added but that ticked down in unemployment to 6.7%, contradictory information. what does that do to janet yellen's calculations? >> it makes her job harder. the important part here workforce -- the amount that

want to work is the lowest since 1978, before women came into the workplace enmass. that means we still don't have a robust recovery. and she needs to make that happen, right. she's got to pair back the federal reserve money dump they've been throwing in the economy, $75 million a month very slowly that it doesn't rerail the economy. otherwise we could start seeing bubbles in the economy and you don't want that either. >> the changes have begun, tapering. >> tapering has already begun. do you expect her to sort of have continuity with -- >> i think she's going to be very slow and steady. and there's two things she needs to balance. she's got to keep the economy going and put enough stimulus out there that the unemployment rate doesn't tick up, but she's got to watch for market bubbles. i mean, we've talked a lot about this. the markets are at all time highs or near them, but the real economy is still suffering. you have this really bifurcated

economy. the thing i came away from this interview feeling clearly, she will judge herself by the health of main street, not the health of wall street. that's an interesting toneship, little like pope francis, she is changing the tone. >> alex, there's been a lot of -- >> really fought hard to torpedo larry summers nomination and get her in place. she's the hawk and dove in the right place. hawk on wall street, very important role for federal reserve and dove when it comes to monetary policy. definitely, monetary policy is difficult and under appreciated but a huge victory for progressives. >> one sort of hesitates to do it because it does seem progress in and of itself that janet yellen being a woman getting this job not a big block buster, really her policies and being right a lot of the time.

>> the most right fed governor. >> but it's not inconsequential that there is a woman in this role, i don't think. in what ways could that be important? >> to the point, how she judges herself and what her record ends up being will say a lot. regardless of what her record ends up being, it's going to be noted, first woman fed chair x, if she can focus on main street and can get gains there in terms of focusing on unemployment and main street and that part of the economy that hasn't quite come back. sure that will be part of her legacy. >> one of the interesting things, she spoke to me not just about the fed and economic policy but how she juggles it all. i don't think allen greenspan or bernanke would be speaking to me about who changes diapers in the house. >> we haven't known a lot about previous fed chair, sort of out there on cnbc in a distance.

we do know a lot about janet yellen of the she talked about her family and her father being a family doctor. she and her mom lived through the great depression and hearing stories and her dad working with brooklyn dock workers. i came to understand the effect that unemployment could have on people in human terms. is this the first time we've almost had a human being, a humanization of the fed, rather than this figure that's the financial doctor? >> that might be true. the fed chair is quasiindependent person. this is somebody who by is mysterious basically by law and only recently since the financial crisis have therein been demands that the fed be more transparent. the thing that i will find interesting is not only how her personal story works and how she decides on doing things and how much more she talks about it more publicly, but how will the folks on capitol hill -- how will the republicans deal with a

new fed chair, a woman fed chair who doesn't have to answer to them? >> that's right and speaking out loudly and more clearly in the past. >> and in a sense maybe knowing more about them, almost in a sense puts more pressure on her that might not be so fair. but we'll look at how she does. the cover story is the $16 trillion woman. thank you so much for being here. >> that is all for now. it's also the last time you'll see "now" at this time slot. starting monday, you can catch alex wagner every weekday at 4:00 p.m. eastern. that is now at 4:00 p.m. right here on msnbc. "andrea mitchell reports" is next. nce. everybody knows that parker. well, did you know auctioneers make bad grocery store clerks? that'll be $23.50. now .75, 23.75, hold 'em. hey now do i hear 23.75? 24! hey 24 dollar, 24 and a quarter, quarter, now half, 24 and a half and .75! 25! now a quarter, hey 26 and a quarter, do you wanna pay now, you wanna do it, 25 and a quarter - sold to the man in the khaki jacket!

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christy's apology has not gotten the governor out of the jam. 1,000 new documents are set to be released today which could reveal new details about led to the lane closing scheme on the nation's busiest bridge. a new theory from rachel maddow brings a new name forward as the pay back target. the state senator, lorraine weinberg will be joining us this hour. >> i can't get into heart and mind and know exactly what it is that provoked this. but bridget kelly sitting in her office did not suddenly think up, i have nothing else to do, i'm going to create a traffic jam. >> and as new details of the scandal unfold, the 108 minute press conference did not quiet the critics or the comics. >> some say this could ruin christie's chances of being elected president of 2016 while hillary clinton