Biden wants Congress to take action on gun reform

In an exclusive interview on ABC's "Good Morning America," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she would be meeting Thursday with representatives from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodities Future Trading Corporation and the Federal Reserve to discuss the recent trading activity around GameStop and look into whether more regulatory action is needed.

"We really need to make sure that our financial markets are functioning properly, efficiently and that investors are protected and we're going to discuss these recent events and discuss whether or not that the recent events warrant further action," Yellen said. 

When pushed to confirm whether steps would be taken, Yellen said only that she and other financial leaders need to "understand deeply what happened" before making any moves.

In a nod to Yellen's appointment as the first female treasury secretary, when asked what she hopes to achieve and leave as her mark on the Treasury Department, Yellen spoke not about her own place in history, but about lifting up American families, especially those who are disadvantaged, and plugged Biden's COVID-19 relief plan.

"I want to make sure that this package gets into law and that we build back better and address long-term problems in the labor market and issues of structural racism, so I would feel if I can make a contribution to that, I would feel that that's a great legacy for me and for the country," Yellen said.

-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky

President Biden will deliver his first major foreign policy speech since taking office on Thursday during a visit to the State Department, where he is expected to talk about "reclaiming America's role in the world" and restoring values to the center of U.S. foreign policy, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

Ahead of those afternoon remarks, Biden is slated to give pre-recorded remarks at the 2021 National Prayer Breakfast in the morning. The event is virtual this year due to the pandemic and has been a tradition for all presidents dating back to Eisenhower. Biden, the nation's second Catholic president, will likely invoke his faith.

It all comes as Democrats move on Biden's COVID-19 relief plan without Republicans, although Biden has pledged to get bipartisan support for the bill. The House on Wednesday night approved a budget resolution that would allow the chamber to advance a relief package through the reconciliation process, which would allow Democrats in the Senate to pass the measure with a simple majority vote. 

Meanwhile, in the Senate, a "vote-a-rama" begins around 2:30 p.m. -- a period of nonstop consideration of amendments to the annual budget resolution as part of the reconciliation process. There’s no cutoff to how many amendments can be considered. Harris is expected to be on the Hill in case she needs to cast a tie-breaking vote as president of the Senate. 

Biden told Democrats Wednesday he's willing to further target the relief payments in his package, but he does not want to go below $1,400.

Psaki also holds her daily press briefing at the White House at 11:30 a.m.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan and Sarah Kolinovsky

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., is keeping her place in House GOP leadership after Republicans voted 145-61 to keep her in the No. 3 position, despite her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump last month. 

Trump's most ardent supporters in the House waged a weeks-long campaign to oust Cheney from her post, arguing that she didn't represent the GOP conference with her vote. 

But even her toughest critics privately acknowledged that she would retain her seat in a secret ballot vote, which gave members the opportunity to throw their support behind her anonymously. 

Cheney told Republicans she wanted a vote on her leadership in Wednesday's meeting, as Republicans also convened to discuss Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's past comments promoting a range of conspiracy theories. 

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who is hoping to reclaim the majority and speaker's gavel next year, threw his support behind Cheney and has also resisted calls to punish Greene -- in a bid to keep his fragile coalition united against Democrats and Joe Biden's agenda.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel

The House on Wednesday night approved a budget resolution that would allow the chamber to advance a coronavirus relief package through the reconciliation process, which would allow Democrats in the Senate to pass the measure with a simple majority vote. 

The House voted 218-212 to approve the measure, effectively a party line vote, with Republicans voting against the measure that instructs committees to begin crafting the relief legislation. 

The Senate is expected to approve its version of the resolution on Thursday, advancing the process to pass COVID-19 relief without Republicans following Biden's recent meeting with GOP senators over their slimmed-down relief proposal. 

The president told Democrats on Wednesday that he's willing to compromise on who should receive stimulus checks in the next round of relief legislation, but doesn't want to come down from the $1400 proposed by the White House.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel