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Biden's 1st 100 days live updates: Senate passes COVID relief bill along party lines

The final vote was 50-49.

Last Updated: March 5, 2021, 11:44 AM EST

Today is Day 46 of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Latest headlines:

Here is how the day is unfolding. All time Eastern.
Mar 05, 2021, 11:44 AM EST

Senate Dems agree to jobless benefits changes in COVID-19 relief bill

Senate Democrats have agreed to an extension in jobless benefits through September at a reduced amount of $300 a week in the COVID-19 relief bill, according to two Democratic aides. The House bill originally included weekly benefits of $400 through August.

The agreement also "provides tax relief to workers who received unemployment insurance compensation by making the first $10,200 of benefits non-taxable for the first time to prevent surprise bills for unemployed at end of year," according to a Democratic aide.

-ABC News' Trish Turner

Mar 05, 2021, 10:47 AM EST

Schumer says Senate will pass COVID-19 relief bill 'no matter how long it takes'

In advance of Friday's vote-a-rama on the COVID-19 relief bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats are prepared to press on without Republicans while Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell continued to characterize the bill as a "liberal wish list". 

"We are not going to be timid in the face of big challenges, we are not going to delay when urgent action is called for," Schumer said. "The Senate will move forward today with the American Rescue Plan."

Schumer set the stage for a long night but said the Senate will remain at it "no matter how long it takes." McConnell also hinted that it could take quite a while, with senators proposing various amendments, saying that Republicans "have many ideas to improve the bill, many ideas."

As he has in days past, McConnell again criticized Democrats for moving forward without GOP support. 

"This isn't a pandemic rescue package, it's a parade of left-wing pet projects they're ramming through during the pandemic," McConnell said. 

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

Mar 05, 2021, 10:44 AM EST

Sanders to offer minimum wage hike amendment to COVID-19 relief bill

Budget Chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., appeared on the Senate floor in advance of Friday's vote-a-rama to introduce his amendment, which he'll offer later today, to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. 

"Let’s be clear. This is the richest country in the history of the world," Sanders said. "We can no longer tolerate millions of our workers being unable to feed their families because they are working for starvation wages."

The amendment is similar to the language in the House-passed bill that was stripped from the Senate bill after the parliamentarian ruled it out of bounds. Sanders slammed the parliamentarians "misguided" decision requiring the minimum wage to be stripped from the budget bill but also railed against the Senate for giving such deference to the decision of an "unelected" official.

Sanders will offer the amendment during the vote-a-rama, though it is not expected to pass. 

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

Mar 05, 2021, 10:39 AM EST

WH says it will work with Congress on rein in war powers

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Twitter Friday morning that the White House will work with Congress to replace the current authorizations for the use of military force with "a narrow and specific framework" -- endorsing Sen. Tim Kaine’s, D-Va., longtime work on the issue. 

“Tim Kaine has been a leader on questions of war powers throughout his time in the Senate and has helped build a strong bipartisan coalition that understands the importance of Congress’s constitutional prerogatives,” Psaki tweeted.

After notifying Congress, the president can authorize military operations overseas. But combat military operations lasting longer than 60 days require a congressional declaration of war or authorized use of military force.

The White House says it will work with Congress to replace the AUMFs "currently on the books" with more narrow and specific framework to rein in "forever wars," a common criticism of broad war powers.

“We are committed to working with Congress to ensure that the authorizations for the use of military force currently on the books are replaced with a narrow and specific framework that will ensure we can protect Americans from terrorist threats while ending the forever wars,” Psaki said.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle