Biden wants Congress to take action on gun reform

It's been two weeks Biden's inauguration and the Senate has so far confirmed six of his Cabinet nominees.

Michael Regan, Biden's nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency -- who would be the first African American man to run the EPA, if confirmed -- sat before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for a hearing Wednesday afternoon.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions also considered the nomination of Miguel Cardona for education secretary Wednesday. If the nominees move out of their committees, they'll receive full floor votes.

Earlier in the day, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm's nomination for Energy Secretary in a 13-4 vote.

The Senate Commerce Committee also had a 15-minute hearing earlier in the day on the nomination of Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo as the next commerce secretary and approved her out of the committee in a 21-3 vote. 

Asked about Biden's Cabinet confirmations at Wednesday's press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said there has "certainly" been a delay in the confirmation of his nominees, saying, "Some of them were slower-paced than they should have been, early on," and calling out Republicans for so far blocking a hearing for Attorney General-designate Merrick Garland.

-ABC News' and Jack Arnholz, Adia Robinson and Lauren Lantry

White House press secretary Jen Psaki at Wednesday's press briefing outlined Biden’s calls and meetings with Democrats on COVID-19 relief and laid out the large differences between the Democratic and Republican plans.

Psaki stressed that Biden and Democrats want to make this bill “as bipartisan as possible,” but there only seems to be a few real areas for change: Who gets the $1,400 stimulus, funding for small businesses and additional aid for state and local governments.

Asked for a response to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s criticism that state and local districts haven’t spent the money previously provided to them for schools, Psaki said it was “pivotal” that schools receive more funding.

Psaki also pushed back on reports she called "ludicrous" that Biden is more willing to negotiate than members of his White House Staff, saying that was “absolutely not" the case. 

Asked about Biden's Cabinet confirmations, Psaki said there has "certainly" been a delay in the confirmation of his nominees, saying, "Some of them were slower-paced than they should have been, early on," and calling out Republicans for so far blocking a hearing for Attorney General-designate Merrick Garland.

-ABC News' Justin Gomez and Molly Nagle

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer led 10 of his Democratic colleagues out of the Oval Office about 90 minutes after the start of their meeting with Biden and made no mention of any potential red lines discussed or whether the group talked about moving forward with the reconciliation process.

Schumer did attempt to underscore unity among Democrats, saying, "We're going to all work together with this president, we are united as one, for a big bold package, working with our Republican friends, when we can."

Unlike Biden, who expressed confidence at the beginning of the meeting that he could win bipartisan support, Schumer has still left the door open to going it alone. 

Schumer also said the portrait of President Franklin Roosevelt that Biden picked for the Oval Office inspired an ambitious mood as it loomed over the meeting.  

"There's universal agreement we must go big and bold," he said.

"We hope our Republican colleagues will join us in that, in that big, bold program that America needs. The vast majority of Republican voters support large parts of the program. We want to do it bipartisan, but we must be strong," Schumer continued. "We cannot dawdle, we cannot delay, we cannot dilute, because the troubles that this nation has, and the opportunities that we can bring them, are so large."

Federal jobless benefits, put in place amid the ongoing pandemic, are set to expire March 14.

-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at Wednesday's White House coronavirus briefing that "vaccination of teachers is not a prerequisite for a safe reopening of schools," citing increasing data suggesting that's the case.

Walensky’s comment comes after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell slammed Democrats for refusing to open schools because, he said, they’re beholden to “big labor,” a reference to teacher’s unions, which have adamantly fought not to send teachers back to school without vaccines.

Biden’s COVID-19 response director Jeff Zients was quick to add that Biden wants to get teachers all the necessary resources to stay safe, like personal protective equipment, ventilation and access to testing. Zients called on Congress for funding -- which McConnell shot down earlier, arguing that funding for schools from the last relief package hadn’t been used up.

Zients also said the federal government was partnering with California to open its first two federal vaccination community centers Wednesday. They were built by the Defense Department and are being run by federal employees from a handful of different agencies, including FEMA. The centers will be in East Los Angeles and Oakland, two places hard hit by the pandemic.

Biden has pledged to open 100 vaccination centers nationwide over his first month in office.

Walensky also noted that case numbers are now back to the level they were before Thanksgiving but “still twice as high as the peak number of cases over the summer." She asked Americans not to gather on Superbowl Sunday.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett