Biden wants Congress to take action on gun reform

Biden has signed three executive orders aimed at reforming the U.S. immigration system and rolling back his predecessor’s policies, including creating a task force aimed at reuniting children whom American authorities separated from their families on the border -- a policy which Biden called a "moral and national shame."

Chaired by the homeland security secretary, the task force will work to identify all families broken apart under the various forms of the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance policy,” which separated children from relatives at the U.S. border, even before it became an official policy. It aims to manage family reunifications on a case-by-case basis, making different immigration benefit determinations for different families, a White House official said Monday.

Biden signed another order directing his administration to address the root causes of migration from Central America and to have the secretary of homeland security review the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols program, under which asylum seekers are sent to Mexico to wait for court appearances north of the border, the White House said. The third order calls for a review of the “public charge” rule former President Donald Trump tried to use to limit poor immigrants from coming to the country legally, according to the White House.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson and Quinn Owen

At State Department spokesperson Ned Price's first department briefing, he announced a return to the once-daily briefing that was often skipped and then totally stopped under the Trump administration shortly after impeachment proceedings began.

"We're putting the daily back in the daily press briefing," Price said in a stiff, direct-to-teleprompter opening. He committed to "always operate in good faith," to get Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top officials to the podium.

In another difference from the previous department under Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Price said the agency will "welcome" an "engaged, active press corps to hold our feet to the fire."

Price is the first openly gay spokesperson for the State Department, which advocates say sends a potent message to foreign LGBTQ activists, especially those fighting in countries where same-sex relationships are still criminalized.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a wide-ranging briefing with reporters Tuesday in which she addressed bipartisan negotiations on COVID-19 following Biden's two-hour meeting with GOP senators in the Oval Office Monday and his latest immigration executive actions.

When ABC News' Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked about the realistic opportunity for compromise on relief legislation, Psaki said there are some "bottom lines" Biden will not budge on.  

On Biden's immigration executive orders expected later Tuesday, Psaki responded to Bruce, who raised the criticism that the orders initiate "reviews" of Trump's most restrictive policies rather than recalling them. Psaki argued the administration needed to see where things stand first to move forward.

“Part of our effort, Mary, is to assess the damage that has been done by the policies that were put in place by the prior administration. We want to act swiftly. We want to act promptly, but we also need to make sure we're doing that through a strategic policy process,” she said.

Psaki also promised a review within 120 days and every 60 days after on the progress the administration is making on reuniting families that were separated at the Southern border.

“We need to find out first where all these kids are and figure out where their parents are. And so, we're starting at, you know, square one here, but our team wants to ensure that we are providing an update on what progress is being made,” Psaki added.

Later in the briefing, she admitted part of the administration’s work is to determine exactly how many children have been separated from their families. She couldn’t confirm whether the number is closer to 600 or 1,600.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle and Sarah Kolinovsky

The U.S. Senate narrowly voted to confirm Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden's pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security in a 56-43 vote Tuesday afternoon.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell voted against his confirmation, citing a 2015 inspector general report that raised questions about Mayorkas' actions in his former role at DHS.

A former federal prosecutor and deputy DHS secretary, Mayorkas is the first Latino and first immigrant to lead the department tasked with enforcing the country's immigration policies.

He faces an increasing challenge at the border and at home as he takes over a department that hasn't had a confirmed secretary in more than two years.

He also enters the department as it faces a national security threat in homegrown domestic extremists -- an issue Mayorkas vowed to combat at his confirmation hearing.

-ABC News' Luke Barr