Biden wants Congress to take action on gun reform

In a written statement this evening, President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal "right away" to help pay for the additional costs to keep schools safe as they reopen.

He also urged states to prioritize vaccinations for teachers, based on the latest recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Biden said the CDC's guidelines to schools include "the best available scientific evidence on how to reopen schools safely" -- such as ensuring social distancing, masking, hand washing and more.

"To meet these guidelines, some schools will need more teachers and support staff to ensure smaller class sizes, more buses and bus drivers to transport our kids safely, more spaces to conduct in-person instruction, and more protective equipment, school cleaning services, and physical alterations to reduce the risk of spread of the virus," Biden wrote.

"These needs cost money," he continued. "But the cost of keeping our children, families, and educators safe is nothing when compared with the cost of inaction."

The House passed the Senate-amended budget resolution last week, paving the way for Biden's COVID-19 relief plan. House Democrats are currently working to assemble the package, with the goal to get a final bill to the president's desk before mid-March.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson

The White House has started a process to figure out how to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, officials said Friday.

The process would be led by the National Security Council, spokeswoman Emily Horne said.

"We are undertaking an NSC process to assess the current state of play that the Biden administration has inherited from the previous administration, in line with our broader goal of closing Guantanamo," Horne said in a statement.

The NSC would work with the Defense, State and Justice departments "to make progress toward closing the GTMO facility, and also in close consultation with Congress," she said.

Horne did not provide a timeline for the process. Several key policy roles still need to be filled in the departments, she noted.

"There will be a robust interagency process to move forward on this, but we need to have the right people seated to do this important work," Horne said.

During Thursday's White House briefing, press secretary Jen Psaki said it was the administration's "goal and intention" to shutter the prison, which former President Barack Obama was unable to fully close during his terms.

"We are still just three and a half weeks in," Psaki said, referring to the short time President Joe Biden has been in office. "So we are undertaking an NSC process, which is how it should work."

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson

Biden and Harris met with a bipartisan group of governors and mayors in the Oval Office Friday morning, with the president saying the most important part of the American Rescue plan is giving the local leaders the resources they need to combat the virus at home.

“The most important piece in my view is making sure we give them enough capacity to deal with the virus in their states, and how we're going to do that," Biden said. "But equally consequential is the need to help the states economically in terms of employment, to be able to make sure that they get kids back in schools and what role the federal government should play in helping getting that done.” 

Biden also praised governors and mayors for being “on the front lines” of tackling the coronavirus in their respective states or cities.

“The federal government has a major role to play here. But these are the folks that are on the ground dealing with it every single solitary day… And so whenever I want to know what’s really happening, I want to talk -- and I’m not being solicitous -- to governors and mayors.” 

-ABC News' Justin Gomez

Open enrollment for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, is set to begin Monday and remain open for the next three months.

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty