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

The first amendment proposed during the marathon vote-a-rama for the COVID-19 relief bill, an amendment brought by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to increase the federal minimum wage over to $15 an hour over five years, failed to be considered after a Senate procedural vote. Surprisingly, a whopping eight Democrats voted against consideration.  

Though it was a procedural vote on whether to set the rules aside and approve the amendment, it was a good indication of where support stands in the caucus. The vote was 42-58, which fell far short of the 60 votes needed.

Though the "no" votes from some moderate Democrats like Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., were unsurprising, "no" votes from five other Democrats, Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., Tom Carper, D-Del., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Sen. Angus King, D-Maine, and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., were unexpected.

"If any Senator believes this is the last time they will cast a vote on whether or not to give a raise to 32 million Americans, they are sorely mistaken," Sanders said in a statement after his amendment fell flat. "We’re going to keep bringing it up, and we’re going to get it done because it is what the American people demand and need.”

-ABC News' Trish Turner

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy sent a letter to Biden Friday expressing "great concern" with the administration's approach to the "crisis" at the border and requested a meeting with the president on the issue.

"We must acknowledge the crisis, develop a plan, and, in no uncertain terms, strongly discourage individuals from Mexico and Central America from ever making the dangerous journey to our southern border," McCarthy said in the letter.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel

White House press secretary Jen Psaki weighed in on the change that would extend unemployment benefits through September at a reduced rate of $300 per week in a new Twitter thread, saying Biden supports the changes that together “would provide more relief to the unemployed than the current legislation.”

“The President believes it is critical to extend expanded unemployment benefits through the end of September to help Americans who are struggling, as the President proposed in the American Rescue Plan. The compromise amendment achieves that while helping to address the surprise tax bills that many are facing by eliminating the first $10,200 of UI benefits from taxation for 2020. Combined, this amendment would provide more relief to the unemployed than the current legislation,” Psaki said over two tweets.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

The Senate has begun voting on amendments to the COVID-19 relief bill as part of a vote-a-rama.

The first amendment up for voting, introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., would increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour over five years. Senators will vote on whether to even consider the amendment in a process vote, after Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., raised an objection to the amendment saying it was out of order in this fast-track reconciliation process. It would take 60 votes in the Senate to consider the amendment, something not likely to happen with the narrow Democratic majority.

"If people here want to vote against raising the minimum wage they have that right. ... But we should not shuffle off that responsibility to an unelected staffer. That's wrong," Sanders said, referring to the chamber's parliamentarian ruling that a straight increase of the hourly minimum to $15 was out of bounds under reconciliation.

Republicans have offered 1,008 other amendments to the bill.

-ABC News' Trish Turner