The final vote was 50-49.
Today is Day 46 of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden will travel to Baltimore, Maryland, on Wednesday to hold an event with the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck in the wake of their historic partnership to produce more COVID-19 vaccines.
Earlier this week, Biden announced a partnership between the pharmaceutical giants to help produce J&J's newly authorized vaccine and said the partnership meant there would be enough vaccine doses for every American adult by the end of May.
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
