in. and they're adding to the speculation. and yemen on edge. the president of the key u.s. ally is apparently being held captive right now in his own home. what this means for the fight against al qaeda. >> it's al qaeda in the arabian peninsula that's based in yemen. it's from aqap that almost all of the successful inspired attacks against the homeland in the united states have occurred. good wednesday. i'm peter alexander in washington, in for anndree andrea mitchell. president obama provided democrats with a road map for the next two years and beyond in his state of the union address, rallying his party with a little improvisation to boot. >> i have no more campaigns to

run. my only agenda -- [ laughter ] i know because i won both of them. [ applause ] >> telling moment may have been the democratic highlight of the night. we want to bring in our team. nbc's kelly o'donnell, luke russert, both on capitol hill and kristen welker holding down the fort at the white house. kristen, we'll start with you. the president on his way to idaho right now. give us a sense of the mood what you're hearing from senior advisers about the speech and really how they're going to push this forward. >> well peter, i think that the president did what he wanted to do. last night in the speech he essentially took a victory lap on the economy, said that middle class economics is working. the verdict is in and now the goal is to continue to sell that message on the road. today he'll be in boise, idaho. he's going to speak there.

also, visit an engineering tech site at the university there. a lab, if you will. he says that lab has really helped to spark new job growth of course one of the key pillars of his message is training workers so they can be prepared for some of these high-tech jobs. then he heads to kansas. he will speak at a university there tomorrow. he'll talk about education, i am told. of course, peter, the key theme of his speech last night is this proposal that he laid out, increasing taxes on wealthy americans to pay for middle-class priorities. so that's something that you're going to hear him talk about on the road as well. of course, it's going nowhere in the republican-led congress. it's more about president obama laying down a marker for his legacy as he faces the final two years in office and also laying down a marker for 2016. >> yeah the president trying to squeeze in a little domestic travel before he heads overseas to india this weekend. luke and kelly, we head to you now on the hill.

we heard from both republican leaders in congress today. let's quickly take a listen. >> all the president really offered last night is more government, more taxes, more of the same approach that's failed the middle class for decades. >> if the president is willing to put the veto threats away and the designed to fail talking points aside, we can still cooperate to get some smart things done for the people we represent. >> kelly, right now the keystone pipeline is leader mcconnell's top priority. give us a sense of how that debate is now likely to play out. >> well in a separate orbit from all the things that went on with the state of the union, the senate is at work at that and will be occupied with it for days with amendments and so forth. they believe it can pass. and there are some democrats who are going to work with republicans to see that done. what i'm hearing is that there was both the extension of the president's hand to say he wants to work with congress and also the veto threat coming at them

simultaneously. sort of the way they boil it down framing this in a way that's most flattering to republicans is to say that it is a missed opportunity for the president, that he was really going to outline an agenda designed for his own base more than one designed to work with the reality of a new congress. and being in the chamber last night, peter, one of the things that i thought was interesting is not only were there rumblings from the house members and senators on the floor, but the galleries of visitors and guests four or five rows deep from where the president was speaking, there was much more of a murmur and a rumble and sort of a response at difficulterent times during the speech. i was thinking about that clip you played where the president ad libbed the line about he won them both. our fellow northwestern alum who worked for months on the president's speech and one of the most notable moments was an ad lib from the president. republicans saw it as him being

a bit too cocky. democrats saw it as being don't be disrespectful. very partisan in that moment. >> luke i want to get a sense from you. obviously there's some room for optimism, specifically in the areas of compromise for republicans would be trade. how do the democrats feel about that? >> well, peter, that's actually a fascinating debate that i think is going to move forward here on capitol hill. the president last night mentioned the possibility of that trade promotion authority, which would essentially allow the president to fast track free trade agreements the ones he would like to see in asia and not have the typical congressional review that goes along with them. specifically an amendment process. when the president mentioned that, who stood up? it was a lot of republicans, a lot of democrats sat on their hands. they're not thrilled with it. this is really i would say, the elizabeth warren effect not only in the house democratic caucus but the senate democratic caucus where she resides. they view these trade deals as nafta part two, something that

will send jobs overseas. president obama mentioned that. that's one area of possible agreement. paul ryan alluded to that this morning. maybe that's something that comes out of this congress and divided government. and the possibility of tax reform is all there. i would say, peter, if we're looking forward to prognosticate, the bare minimum of funding the necessary mechanisms of government the military force agreement, which is expected to be done by the spring, which will be a fascinating debate and trade agreements. that's probably what you're going to get for 2015. we can tell you that already in january. >> that's exactly right. luke and kelly, we appreciate it. snowing outside. hunker down inside the capitol for a while. kristen, before i let you go, i want to bring up vice president biden's comments with you. he spoke with matt lauer on "today" this morning, specifically about his safety after shots were fired outside his delaware home last weekend. here's what he said. >> i feel completely safe being there. matt what they've established

is someone going by at a fairly high rate of speed shot four shots, probably in the air. no evidence any bullet holes anywhere. reports by the county police that an hour later similar shots were heard about a mile and a half down the same road. so i'm not worried about it. i think the security at my home is fine. >> kristen, new today we're learning about past problems with biden's home security system. what more do we know? >> well, peter, we know that there were so many problems that the secret service actually shut the security system down for a period of time last year. we also know that security cameras didn't capture whoever actually fired off those shots. brian leary, spokesperson for the secret service, wouldn't get into details about the security system in place on the night of that incident. but he did say this peter. he says quote, on the night of the incident in delaware the appropriate security measures were in place and fully functioning. we should also say that congressman jason chafitz has

asked acting secret service director joe clancy for more information about what happened that evening. a lot of concerns surrounding the incident peter. >> yeah certainly right, kristen welker at white house. thank you very much. last night president obama threatened to veto any republican efforts that would undo his actions on immigration and other topics. but really only spoke about immigration briefly. >> yes, passions still fly on immigration, but surely we can all see something of ourselves in the striving young student and agree that no one benefits when a hard-working mom is snatched from her child. then it's possible to shape a law that upholds our tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. >> joining me now is illinois congressman luis gutierrez, a member of the intelligence committee and subcommittee on immigration and border security. that's where we start, congressman. in 6500 words-plus last night, the president only mentioned

immigration twice. did he say enough? >> yeah he did. he said enough on november 20th. peter, we're going across the country signing up millions of people for the president's deferred action that saved 5 million people from deportation. that says to american citizen children millions of american citizen children the government is not going to separate you from your mom and dad, if your mom and dad are working, ready to go through a background check and get right with the law. look, last year he said a lot, right? he said immigration is very important, and he said if you don't act, i will. and guess what? the president kept his promise. so i'm feeling really really good about what the president said. >> congressman, the president referred also to the fight between the white house and republicans, specifically over funding homeland security. this matters in the deadlines approaching. what can lawmakers do to negotiate a new spending plan before funding runs out? >> well here's what i think we need to do. we need to have the reality. look, come on, peter, they don't

have 67 boats, which isvotes, which is what it takes to override a veto. we have sufficient votes in the house. why don't we get to the real job and stop jeopardizing the safety of the american people? look, i'm very optimistic. maybe -- i think that's going to be resolved. we're going to resolve it because in the end, you can't let your politics get ahead of the safety of the american people. but think about it. paul ryan pretty positive right, on trade and probably on helping our families take care of their children and changing the tax laws. i think there's going to be room there. i was really happy because they took my mayor rahm emanuel's idea and the city of chicago. we're going to give every kid that graduates with a "b" average the first two years of city college free. so it's great to see those kinds of ideas at the local level take on a national importance. >> of course another item that took on some national interest

yesterday was an ugly comment congressman steve king under fire today for calling one of the president's guests last night a, quote, deportable. he was referring to dreamer ana zimmora, a 21-year-old from dallas who came from mexico. she's allowed to stay here under the president's 2012 program. your response to his comments that he said to my colleague luke russert, basically we should have a sense of humor and laugh it off. >> it's not a laughing matter when the only flag you've pledged allegiance to is the american flag. when the only country you know is the united states of america. when you love this country, when you're an american and everything but a piece of paper. you know event i will we're going to get them that piece of paper. but let me just say this. republicans, i believe, are going to work. i'm an eternal optimist but i'm a realist in terms of talking to my republican friends. i think they're going to turn the page. this is an ugly page that we have to turn. >> does he need to apologize?

>> i think we're going to get something. >> should he apologize? >> what can you say? what can you say to people like mr. king? they are lost. they are lost. they are regrettably unretrievable in this fight and this march towards justice. and so what i'd like to say is there are dozens of other members of the republican party and obviously many members of the democratic party. let's coalesce with them. because there are always going to be the outliers. he can't see the fairness and the justice because bigotry and prejudice just clouds his vision. >> the potential for coalescing here exists on issues like potentially a trade deal with asia, the tpp. the president's position more in line with republicans than it is with democrats. would you support such a deal? >> look i think if you can -- i think the president hit it right on the nail yesterday. he said, look, we can have trade deals that protect american workers and that are fair to american workers and that are

fair to workers all around the world. you know i'm so happy because, again, here's the president yesterday -- >> so you would support this? >> no, i want to work with this president of the united states to get such a trade deal done. i think we need to stop -- here's what president said to me yesterday as i heard. as one of 300 million americans, right. he's our leader. i think he said luis america, let's -- before we say no can we listen to each other? can we first begin to see if there's value? and i'm ready to listen to what you have to say. so with a president like that obviously i'm ready and happy. look minimum wage i want top say, peter, i took out my calculator as i was listening. the federal minimum wage is about 15 grand. i'm happy the president brought that up. that is what a member of congress makes each and every month. we expect people to live an entire year on what a member of congress earns in a month. i think that's a shame. happy the president brought it

up. >> congressman, you make a good point. before i let you go quickly, can we trust the cubans with the president calling for the trade embargo to be lifted by lawmakers? can we trust the cubans to make real reforms, including those on human rights? >> peter, you hit it on the nail. if people are still in jail if you can't have publications if there isn't a free internet if there isn't -- how would i say -- >> so has the president gone too far? because those things don't exist. >> and that's a real real real big issue for me as i listen to the president propose that. so again, i'm going to listen to see how this -- but i'm -- how old -- would i say? we have to have freedom of expression. people languishing in cuban jails, we need to do more. good step. we got grossman back. he's back in the united states. we took a definitely good step

in the right direction. but there are still thousands of more languishing in jails. >> congressman, we always appreciate your time. nice to visit with you today. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> we also want to encourage you to make sure you watch tomorrow and again on friday. my colleague andrea mitchell is not here because she will be life from havana cuba. she'll be joined by several special guests. she's going to show us what the changes ahead might mean for that island nation. also today, developing news now from inside the supreme court, where this morning's session started with what was certainly a surprise. protesters disrupting the court's opening session. our justice correspondent pete williams is joining us now. pete, give us a sense of what happened there. >> well it was five years ago the supreme court issued its decision in citizens united about campaign finance and corporate money. about six or seven people stood up in turn just as the court was starting today to announce decisions, and protested the decision, made comments about the citizens united decision said money is speech money is not speech.

the court security people hustled them out. one was wrestled to the floor. they were taken away. we're waiting to hear from the court on exactly how many the number turned out to be and what the charges against them will be. one big decision today peter, the court ruled in favor of a former federal air marshal who had complained about a decision by tsa in 2003 to restrict overnight trips. at the same time tsa was warning internally about the possibility of hijackings. that air marshal ended up talking to a reporter for msnbc.com when the decision became public. it was criticized by members of congress. tsa rescinded it 24 hours later. eventually claimed the air marshal was disclosing classified secure information, and they fired him. today the supreme court by a vote of 7-2 said the information that he reveal the was not protected. so it's a big victory for him and for whistleblowers. >> pete williams looking festive in the snow outside. we appreciate it. >> i'm going to havana too. >> good thing. news from capitol hill.

speaker john boehner has invited israeli prime minister netanyahu to address a joint session of congress in three weeks, february 11th. the speaker has asked netanyahu to address what he calls the grave threats posed by radical islam and iran. this would be netanyahu's third such appearance before congress. today, there are fast-moving developments in yemen. a country on edge and critical to the u.s. fight against al qaeda. we'll have the latest from the pentagon next. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. stouffer's mac and cheese with real aged cheddar now in a convenient cup. new stouffer's mac cups. made for you to love.

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we're back right now on "andrea mitchell reports." a gopdeveloping and disturbing story today. israeli police say four people were seriously wounded, nine others suffering minor injury when is man went on a stabbing

spree. this happened on a bus in central tel aviv. police say the attacker was a palestinian from the west bank who reportedly entered israel illegally. police say the man began stabbing people there, including the bus driver himself and then fled. officers nearby saw the bus swerving out of the control and a man running away. they shot the attacker in the leg. these are first pictures coming in just now from israel. the american-backed government in yemen, a key ally in the u.s. fight against al qaeda, is teetering on the brink of collapse today. anti-government shiite rebels are now in control of yemen's capital and have been holding the president captive in his own home. senior u.s. officials tell nbc news that americans in yemen are not at risk but two u.s. navy warships have been moved into the red sea as a precaution. nbc's chief pentagon correspondent is jim miklaszewski. he's joining us now. new reports today that the presidential palace has fall into the hands of rebels. what more do we know and what do we know about the potential

risk to americans there? >> according to u.s. officials, the rebels have taken over the presidential palace. it's not clear, however, that they've taken president hadi into custody. in fact, they say they're not interested in taking them into custody. and people here in washington at the state department at the pentagon, are hesitant to call the rebels terrorists. they say this is pretty much a political dispute. they had sought some kind of representation in the government. president hadi didn't deliver. and as we've seen many times before these disputes are often settled with weapons. >> in the state of the union address last night, refocusing on what we heard from the president on this issue, president obama said that quote, american leadership including our military power, has played a key role in stopping isis. today we're hearing his chief critic, one of the president's chief critics, john mccain. this is his first hearing as armed services chairman just moments ago. here was his pushback on that.

take a listen. >> a speech riddled with unrealistic wishful thinking president obama told the nation last night that the shadow of crisis has passed. that news came as quite a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to what has been happening around the world. >> so break this down for us. what is the reality check on both isis and al qaeda right now? >> well in terms of the claim that the u.s. along with their coalition allies iraqi forces on the ground pesh mother ga forces on the ground have stopped the advance, according to u.s. military officials. they're in iraq. but now syria is an entirely different story. without ground troops there, the u.s. air strikes are ineffective against containing isis advances against the moderate rebel forces there in syria. so there's a little bit of truth and a little bit of fantasy mixed into that statement. but clearly nobody in the u.s.

government, u.s. military expects that the coalition air strikes alone can stop or turn back the advances of isis entirely. and that it will take ground troops. but as the president has said and, in fact, pledged to the american people, it will not be american ground troops in iraq. it has to be iraqi and peshmerga forces. but in syria, there is no easy or foreseeable resolution to that situation there. >> jim miklaszewski at the pentagon, as always thank you very much. we are also getting a clearer picture this morning about the final moments in the crash of airasia flight 8501. indonesian officials said tuesday that the plane climbed too fast before suddenly plunging into the java sea. the plane reportedly ascended at a rate of 6,000 feet per minute. that's at fighter jet speeds. the normal rate is 1,000 to 2,000 feet per minute. the crash on december 28th killed all 162 people on board.

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we're back now. converging in washington today mayors from across the country, their annual gathering to talk transportation, economics, community safety cybersecurity, likely a little politics. san diego mayor kevin faulkner. does the president deserve credit for the improving economy right now? there's new numbers out that you guys are putting out, highlighting the fact that all 363 metropolitan areas in the country will add jobs in the coming year. >> it's good news for the country. and i think there's more than enough credit to go around. one of the things we're doing here at the conference of mayors is talking about, you know, how do we work better with washington, d.c. and a huge push from all of us as mayors

it's about bipartisanship. it's about getting results. the things the president talked about last night from a local perspective, you know, infrastructure certainly, reforms in cybersecurity, which the president mentioned. hugely important to us in san francisco. >> let me focus on infrastructure. the current transportation funding will run out in may. how important is it that a deal gets done for cities like san diego? >> hugely important. and hugely important for every city. >> how far behind are we right now? >> when you look at the backlog of infrastructure, and particularly at our roads and bridges, these are vital for commerce vital for our families to drive around. so that's one of the things. in fact later this afternoon, i'll be at an infrastructure committee with my fellow mayors. it's absolutely essential. and it's not -- you know it's not just a short-term thing, as you well know. it's really what are we doing for the next 10 15 and 20 years? i think that's one area where

republicans and democrats agree. and we have to get it done. >> let's abbreviate our horizon for a little bit. instead of 10 to 15 years, let's talk two years. san diego in the national spotlight just a couple days back as you hosted the rnc winter meeting. among those in attendance a guy who goes by the name mitt romney. he spoke to individuals there. let's take a listen quickly to what he said. >> some serious consideration to the future but this i know. we can win in 2016 as a party. in the house, in the senate and in the white house. if we communicate a clear vision of where we're taking this country. >> do you think governor romney can or frankly should get a third chance to try to lead republicans heading into the 2016 election? >> obviously that's going to be a choice for him. >> what do you think? >> i'll tell you, he did a fantastic job as governor. i think he has a very clear and compelling message. i think on the republican side we're going to have a lot of candidates. they're going to have not only the ability to demonstrate results at certainly their own state level but also from a

national level. so i'm actually excited about the number of candidates. >> but california is always ahead of the game. always the progressive state in this country. so governor romney who now would be running for a third time s that the solution? a romney or a bush? does it have to be a fresh face? >> that's a decision they're going to have to make peter. i think it's good to have a number of candidates that are going to step up and run. that's good for democracy. it's good for the party. i think you're going to start to see some of those decisions being made and obviously coalesce over the next several weeks and months. >> come the 2016 election in your home state of california, the state for the first time in more than two decades will have an open senate seat. we're already hearing harris among the names. they will throw their hat into the ring. is there going to be a strong republican that can compete? >> i think the answer will be yes. i think we'll find out that certainly. >> is that something that interests you? >> i'm interested in being mayor of the city of san diego. i've been on the job for about 11 months now. i love it. we're having a strong message of

financial and fiscal reform that we've really done to help turn our city around. and we're focusing on issues like infrastructure getting people back to work. that's what i talked a lot about in my state of the city speech last week. and do it in a way that brings everybody to the table. i'm such a big believer that when you actually bring everybody together get all the input, you move forward by being inclusive. that's how you win. that's how you get results. that's something that our cities and our country needs a lot more of. >> kevin faulconer, mayor of san diego, good to see you. sorry we brought the snow out. wanted to give you a taste of seasons. >> thank you. >> state of the union check now. time for the 2016 game to really begin. who can take on hillary clinton? we'll have more ahead right here. you're watching msnbc. i was not expecting to get a ford. we went around the country talking to people who made the switch to ford. it felt nicer than my bmw. good gas mileage... ecoboost makes a four cylinder engine feel like a six cylinder. my dad went and turned in his lexus and got the exact same car as me. he had to have it...

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higher taxes like the president has proposed. [ speaking foreign language ] >> president obama offers more of the same policies. policies that have allowed the poor to get poorer and the rich to get richer. >> this president is not willing to help solve the fiscal and economic problems facing this country. then it's time to move on. >> there's your midday mashup as it were. we had a few formal and informal republican responses to the state of the union. plenty of reaction from 2016 hopefuls across the country. joining me now for our favorite part of the broadcast, the daily fix. chris, you got to show up here in person. you foeknow what i mean? >> i know. >> and ruth marcus. >> i make it here. >> we'll give you the head start today, chris. let's start with the sitting

vice president, if we can. he was asked about his political future by matt this morning. here's what he said. >> to be blunt with you, i think i could do a good job, but that's not my focus now. my focus is keeping this recovery moving. i have plenty of time to make that decision between now and the summer and i will make that decision in that time frame. >> that decision being about whether or not he will run for president. felt a little bit like that "dumb and dumber" scene where he says, so you're saying there's a chance? but he's got no reason to close the door right now, does he? >> no absolutely not. look i do not think joe biden would run, peter, if hillary clinton, as we expect her to runs. that said, he is the sitting vice president of the united states. he doesn't need to take himself out before she's even declared that she's in. you know i think he wants to do it on his own timeline. like i said a race against hillary clinton, if you believe polling, would be extremely difficult for him or anyone else. but a race without her, there's

a possibility. it's not a big one, but there's a possibility. a race without her, joe booid season the nominal front runner if that race. >> right. ruth, we can't take secretary clinton out of this conversation, obviously. she didn't take herself out of it last night. she was quick to tweet following the president's state of the union. she distanced herself from wall street, did not focus on foreign policy, where her differences with the president become a little bit more clear. she wrote, barack obama pointed to an economy that works for all. now we need to step up and deliver for the middle class, fair shot, fair share, she says. what was the significance of the president's remarks last night for his former secretary of state? >> i think the remarks set the table and set it in a very comfortable way for hillary clinton oar really actually any other democrat to be running on an agenda that's a very familiar agenda for democrats, which is we need to help the middle class, we need to help grow the middle class. and in particular, these days we

need to be addressing issues of income inequality. >> the more the economy grows, the better off for her. >> exactly. i think she's in a very potentially lucky position with what looks like a clean, if not entirely cleared, pretty clear field and an economy that's finally roaring back and in a way that people may actually be feeling in 2016. >> chris, back on the republican side we saw two possible contenders. rand paul ted cruz. they gave their two cents on president's address. how difficult would a presidential run be for either senator, given that congress the label attached to them as a congress member really doesn't seem to help anybody right now. >> right. i mean remember barack obama in 2008 was the first senator directly elected to be president since 1960. there is a reason why you don't get elected or often don't get elected when you are in the senate or the house. that's because you vote too

much. you get put in difficult positions. i give you john kerry's vote about funding in afghanistan. you just vote too often. i think both of them will run as outsiders. ted cruz certainly will. i think rand paul will as welt. but they will be forced at times to vote on things that they prefer not to have voted on and those will become fodder for their opponents in a republican primary or if one of them ends up being a nominee in the general election. >> right now, some breaking news. a few moments ago we heard from jen psake speaking about benjamin netanyahu's arrival, coming to the u.s. let's take a listen to what he said about the change in protocols. >> -- the plans of a leader to come to the united states separately from learning about from the speaker of the house, which is how we learned of prime minister netanyahu's plans to

come and speak to a joint session. now, he's spoken to a joint session many times in the past. that's certainly not something we have opposed, nor do we oppose it in general in this case. >> no love lost between the administration and john boehner, but a little shot across the bow for john boehner announcing this before the delegation itself had. >> right and a little sort of guess who's coming to dinner-ish response. curious about what happened behind the scenes there been but i heard that and i haven't been immersed in that particular episode until you just showed that. not as just a shot across the bow at bier in but there's been historical friction. i heard a little bit of that as well. >> i think that's probably right. before i let you go, i want to get a sense. mitt romney since we're talking 2016, he also tweeted out last night some comments criticizing the president for his partisanship. your take on where he stands right now.

>> he needs to come back and convince both sets of bases, his voters and his donors that he's got an answer to how he's going to be a better candidate in 2016 than he was in 2012. >> we'll find out whether he can make that happen. nice to see you as always ruth and chris. thanks very much. >> thank you. a little pop quiz for you. who was the one cabinet secretary who was not at the state of the union last night? we will speak to that individual in a moment. but first, here's a hint. >> 21st century businesses need 21st century infrastructure. modern ports and stronger bridges, faster trains and the fastest internet. ts. wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters and even piano tuners were just as simple? thanks to angie's list now it is. we've made hiring anyone from a handyman to a dog walker as simple as a few clicks. buy their services directly at angieslist.com no more calling around. no more hassles.

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democrats and republicans used to agree on this. so let's set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline. let's pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan that could create more than 30 times as many jobs per year and make this country stronger for decades to come. let's do it. >> speaking of infrastructure right now, look at the roads behind us. you can see that's the white house, starting to snow here in d.c. be safe if you're heading out the door right now. on that very topic, president obama pushing infrastructure reform last night during his state of the union address. will congress be able to look past the controversial keystone pipeline? joining us now to disdoes that transportation secretary anthony fox. we understand you were not at the capital last night, but you played an important role in the state of the union. what was that? >> well i was the designated survivor. other than having a good dinner i can't talk about where i was, but -- >> i don't want to know where you were. talk to me about the

accommodations. what do they serve you for dinner? how does this work? >> i had braised tenderloin. better than i would have gotten at home, most likely. >> before i let that thought go the gut feeling, what's the first thing that goes through your feeling when someone shakes your hand and says, sir, you're going to be our designated survivor? >> is well, you think about the enormity of the responsibility. hopefully we never need such a thing. but in the event that you are necessary, it's an enormous responsibility. everyone takes it very seriously. >> well, with respect, we appreciate that you're still the secretary of transportation today. back now to the president's message last night, which called on congress to look beyond the keystone pipeline a controversial plan the state department says would create 42,000 temporary jobs. president obama said he would veto that measure if passed by congress. but last night he instead proposed that even more jobs could be created by focusing on improving america's infrastructure. what needs to be done? >> well there's no question that america's infrastructure is

not only one of the great facilitators of jobs but it creates jobs right now. the president's exactly right. that's one of the reasons why we've proposed a surface transportation bill, which for the first time in ten years would give us more runway to build more infrastructure in this country, more highways more transit across the country. this is actually a very important year. because the highway trust fund becomes bankrupt in may of this year. and we expect that state d.o.t.s across the country are already working through their plans for the summer and may stop or slow projects as a result of the federal uncertainty. so it's a big deal. we also have aviation bills and rail bills comeing up this year. it's a big year for infrastructure. congress is looking for something to get done, infrastructure is a great thing to do. >> clearly a lot of americans think this needs to be a priority. give us a sense of the opportunity cost. what americans should expect if a deal isn't reached.

>> well again, i think you see a state like tennessee, which has already identified 33 projects to the tune of $400 million that it's already stopping because of federal uncertainty. we don't need to see that happening around the country. if congress gave the country a long-term, sustainable bill with substantial growth i think it would actually provide an injection of confidence in the system. you'd see more construction happening across the country and more people put to work. >> last week senator john thune says he wants to pass a major tax overhaul funding long-term infrastructure. is that something you could support? >> well i think we've got to have a long-term bill. we of course have a view that long-term -- >> can it be wrapped up into taxes, though, into tax reform? >> we've proposed a business tax reform package that would create substantial amounts of more money in transportation. i think folks are in the same zip code. the question is can we get the yes? i'm going to do everything i can

to make sure that happens. >> secretary foxx save us some of that braised tenderloin leavitt leftovers. we appreciate your time today. breaking news from the nfl here on "andrea mitchell reports." nbc sports has confirmed via one unnamed nfl source that the footballs used by the new england patriots in sunday's afc title game were properly checked before the game but according to espn 11 of the 12 footballs were found to be underinflated by two pounds per square inch. we're going to have much more about that coming up. you're watching msnbc. car insurance. yeah, everybody knows that. well, did you know that playing cards with kenny rogers gets old pretty fast? ♪ you got to know when to hold'em. ♪ ♪ know when to fold 'em. ♪ ♪ know when to walk away. ♪ ♪ know when to run. ♪ ♪ you never count your money, ♪ ♪ when you're sitting at the ta...♪ what? you get it? i get the gist yeah. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

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you're watching "andrea mitchell reports." president obama just releasing a rare statement about protests at the supreme court that we told you about earlier on this broadcast. here is the statement, specifically those protesters were at the opening session of the court. some yelling "one man, one vote," specifically protesting the citizens united ruling that allows unlimited campaign

contributions from unnamed sources. here's what the president wrote in his own words. our democracy works best when everyone's voice is heard and no one's voice is drowned out. but five years ago, a supreme court ruling allowed big companies, including foreign corporations, to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence our elections. the citizens united decision was wrong, and it has caused real harm to our democracy. with each new campaign season this dark money floods our air waves with more political ads that pull our politics into the gutter. it's time to reverse this trend rather than bolster the power of lobbyists. washington should lift up the voices of ordinary americans and protect their democratic right to determine the direction of the country that we love. we now join chris cillizza from "the washington post" for our next 24. this is -- in the years i've been covering the white house, it's very rare you hear them weigh in on what was frankly a small protest, certainly one at

the supreme court. >> right. and remember peter, we are, as the president mentioned, coming on the five-year anniversary of that citizens united decision. look, this is something that we know the president feels personally and passionately about. i believe it was two state of the unions ago in which he mentioned it as a bad ruling in front of the supreme court justices. he talked about dark money last night in his state of the union. you know, i think this was the president wanting to say something. when the president wants to say something s we get a statement. but you rightly know this is not common that he sounds off on sort of an issue of the day in a statement like that. >> yeah, certainly will highlight this issue. he's punctuating his state of the union message, but this is going to get highlighted over the course of the next 24 hours. that's for sure. chris, we appreciate your being here. thank you very much. that's going to do it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." tomorrow on the show, anndrea

will host a special edition of the broadcast from havana cuba. remember to follow the show online on facebook and twitter. you can follow me me @peteralexander. ronan farrow joins us next. >> good to see you. a big show up ahead. full breakdown of the state of the union policy promises and what can work and what's likely not to with leading voices on both sides of the aisle. we have a stacked show today. also, with the economic message of the state of the union dhesicily, we're looking at alarming new numbers on in inequality globally. and i'm on the ground in new york row by with a chunk of an interesting documentary that shows you what you can do to get involved in fighting poverty. stay with us, everybody.

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can this decadent, fruit topped pastry... ...with indulgent streusel crumble, be from... fiber one. fiber one streusel. it is 1:00 p.m. on the east coast, 10:00 a.m. on the west. i have a state of the union hangover. do you? and do america's favorite uncomfortably exposed state of

the union love birds rebecca and ben? more on that later. first, the stories you need to know about right now. president obama on his way to idaho for his first visit there as president. this afternoon he's going to be speaking at boise state university. he'll likely echo the major themes of his defiant 6,000-word state of the union last night, taking credit for a recovering economy and focusing on helping the middle class. >> we've seen the fastest economic growth in over a decade. our deficits cut by two-thirds. a stock market that has doubled and health care inflation at its lowest rate in 50 years. this is good news people. [ applause ] so the verdict is clear. middle class economics works. >> middle class