Here is how the day is unfolding. All time Eastern.
Mar 03, 2021, 10:30 AM EST
Debate on COVID-19 relief bill expected Wednesday
Senate Democratic aides tell ABC News they expect debate on the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill to start late Wednesday, but they’re waiting on the text to be completed and nonpartisan offices to issue a new price tag, also called a "score," and analysis.
After that, there will be up to 20 hours of debate over the bill, and then a Senate "vote-a-rama" will begin, during which senators can propose amendments. Then the Senate will vote on the bill's passage.
-ABC News' Trish Turner
Mar 03, 2021, 9:50 AM EST
First lady wades into school reopening debate
Jill Biden, the nation’s highest-ranking teacher, is wading into the debate over reopening schools, with a visit Wednesday to Connecticut and Pennsylvania alongside the newly confirmed Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. Upping her role in this contentious fight is a significant move for Jill Biden, and one that could put her in the political crosshairs, as the Biden administration tries to balance the interests of teachers' unions and pandemic-weary parents who are desperate to get their kids back in school.
The first lady will need to walk a fine line. Wednesday's visits are being billed more as a listening session. Biden and the education secretary will be stopping by two schools that have managed to reopen with the hopes of “having a conversation… about what has been effective, what has worked, what are the lessons learned, what do they need more assistance with?" White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
But Biden, who herself is teaching virtually at Northern Virginia Community College this semester, will nonetheless get a reality check on the difficulties facing schools as the Biden administration struggles to achieve its goal to reopen the majority of schools in his first 100 days.
-ABC News' Mary Bruce and Sarah Kolinovsky
Mar 03, 2021, 9:09 AM EST
Biden to hold meeting on cancer, meet with House Dems
After meeting with Senate Democrats two days in a row, Biden speaks, virtually, to the House Democratic Caucus at their annual retreat. Before that, Biden and Harris will hold a 1:45 p.m. bipartisan meeting on cancer in the Oval Office. Details on that are still unclear but Biden has long advocated a cancer "moonshot."
Separately, Harris will spend part of the day visiting a woman-owned small business in Alexandria, Virginia, to discuss the impact of the pandemic and promote the American Rescue Plan. The vice president will also ceremonially swear in Gina Raimondo as Secretary of Commerce in the evening.
The White House Covid-19 response team will hold a press briefing at 11 a.m. and White House press secretary Jen Psaki will hold a briefing at 12:30 p.m.
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford
Mar 02, 2021, 7:04 PM EST
Neera Tanden withdraws her nomination for OMB director
Facing insurmountable math in the Senate, Neera Tanden has withdrawn her nomination for Office of Management and Budget director.
"I appreciate how hard you and your team at the White House has worked to win my confirmation. Unfortunately, it now seems clear that there is no path forward to gain confirmation and I do not want continued consideration of my nomination to be a distraction from your other priorities," Tanden writes in her letter to the White House.
Biden said in a statement he looks "forward to having her serve a role in my Administration," and that he has "the utmost respect for her record of accomplishment, her experience and her counsel."
Neera Tanden testifies during a Senate Committee on the Budget hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 10, 2021.
Andrew Harnik/AP, FILE
Last month, a vote on her nomination in the Homeland Security Committee was postponed "because members need more time to consider the nominee," a Democratic committee aide said in a statement. The Senate Budget Committee also delayed a confirmation hearing, two sources with knowledge of the matter told ABC News.
Tanden's confirmation came into question last month, when Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced that he would break with his party and vote against Tanden's nomination, citing past tweets with strong language critical of Republican members of Congress and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., many of which were deleted prior to her nomination.
Since then, the list of moderate Republicans opposing Tanden for the role has grown and in the evenly divided Senate, she needs support from a Republican.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, confirmed Monday that she met in person with Tanden, but said she remained undecided.
