Biden wants Congress to take action on gun reform

Ahead of an evening meeting at the White House with Biden, 10 GOP senators -- led by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine -- outlined their $618 billion counterproposal to Biden's $1.9 trillion American Resue Plan to address COVID-19 relief, along with plans to address reporters following the Oval Office meeting.

"The message implicitly carried by these Republicans is look, we can get things done and carry things through the Senate if only you say yes to what we want, but for Biden, of course, that could come with a cost," said ABC News Political Director Rick Klein on Biden's imminent meeting with Republicans.

The GOP proposal removes certain elements of Biden's that have drawn ire from the GOP like increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and additional funding for state and local governments.

The plan extends unemployment insurance at $300 per week rather than $400, and lowers direct payments to Americans from $1400 for those making up to $75,000 to $1000 for those making up to $40,000. The Republican package also offers less funding for the continuation of the Paycheck Protection Program, and only provides $20 billion for schools, compared with the Biden administration's $170 billion proposal.

The meeting comes amid a push among Democrats on Capitol Hill to use an alternative, fast-track budgetary tool that would let them proceed on aid without Republican support. Congressional Democratic leaders said last week that GOP proposals did not go far enough, and on Friday, Biden signaled openness to potentially moving forward without Republicans.

Asked if former President Donald Trump's absence on Twitter had made the White House's job easier amid COVID-19 negotiations, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, "This may be hard to believe. We don't spend a lot of time talking about or thinking about President Trump here -- former President Trump, to be very clear."

She said it was a better question for Republicans and added, "But I can't say we miss him on Twitter."

She said it remained up to Twitter and other social media platforms "to continue to take steps to reduce hate speech."

Asked if the White House made a determination about whether it will continue to extend the privilege of intelligence briefings to Trump as a former president, given the concern among some Democrats that he could misuse it or leverage it to enrich himself, Psaki said it's been raised when their national security team.

"It's something, obviously, that's under review, but there was not a conclusion the last I asked them about it," she said, adding she'll follow up if there's more to share.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who has been outspoken in his opposition to Trump receiving any intelligence briefings, has since called on the Biden administration to withhold the post-presidency perk from Trump in a tweet.

"We know Trump will abuse any intel for his own gain. He must not be given the chance," Schiff wrote.

-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky and Ben Gittleson

When ABC's Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce pointed out Republican criticism that passing the bill through budget reconciliation isn’t bipartisanship -- because it doesn’t represent any compromise -- White House press secretary Jen Psaki countered with the point that Americans in need don’t necessarily care how the bill is passed and that the White House believes lawmakers will feel the pressure to get something done. 

“I think that the one in seven American families who can't put food on the table and the teachers who are waiting to ensure their schools have the ventilation, the PPE, the testing they need," Psaki said. "They will tell you that they expect their members to meet this moment.”

Psaki said Biden is still supportive of congressional Democrats moving forward with the budget reconciliation process in the background as bipartisan conversations continue. 

While some Republicans have been warning that if bipartisanship can’t be achieved on a matter like COVID-19 relief, there’s little chance it can be achieved on other matters later on, Psaki insisted many of the provisions in his bill are popular on both sides of the aisle. 

“The president is confident that issues like reopening schools, getting shots in the arms of Americans, ensuring people have enough food to eat are not just Democratic issues. He takes his former Republican colleagues at their word, of course, that they are committed to these issues too, and that's why he wants to have the conversation,” she said.

She also declined to draw a red line when it comes to specific measures in the package, asked specifically whether losing state and local government funding was a deal breaker. 

“But, again, the reason that each component was put in the package was because economists, health experts -- many that the president and others consulted -- with felt there were essential components to help get the American people through this period of time,” Psaki said.

-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky and Ben Gittleson

White House press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated that Biden's meeting with ten Republican senators at the White House Monday evening would be an "exchange of ideas" but did not guarantee any changes to the plan Biden has proposed -- the American Rescue Plan.

"He's happy to have a conversation with them," Psaki said. "What this meeting is not is a forum for the president to make or accept an offer."

Asked if was more important to go big as Biden has pressed in recent weeks or go bipartisan, on beat with his theme of unity, Psaki said the president believes they can have both with the package.

"And there is historic evidence that it is possible to take a number of paths, including through reconciliation -- if that is the path that is pursued -- and for the vote to be bipartisan. But it's important to him that he hears this group out on their concerns, on their ideas," she said.

Given the GOP counterproposal costs about a third of Biden's and jettisons some measures altogether, Psaki was pressed if the White House views their plan as a "serious attempt" at compromise.

"He felt it was an effort to engage on a bipartisan basis. That's why he invited them to the White House today. But his view is that the size of the package needs to be commensurate with the crisis -- crises we are facing, the dual crises we're facing, hence why he proposed a package that's $1.9 trillion," she said.