Biden wants Congress to take action on gun reform

Biden allies in the Senate told House impeachment managers during their deliberation Saturday afternoon that they opposed calling witnesses, making it clear that calling witnesses would take away from the president’s agenda and had the potential to derail COVID-19 relief, according to multiple sources close to the deliberations behind the scenes.

A White House official told ABC News that the White House was not involved with discussions over calling witnesses or the deal that was made.

The Senate Saturday voted 55-45 to hear from witnesses, but then the Trump legal team and House impeachment managers came to the agreement to admit the written testimony of Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., into evidence and not request further witnesses.

Herrera Beutler, one of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach, tweeted a statement Friday reiterating comments she made about a talk she had with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy regarding Trump's involvement in the Capitol siege.

In Herrera Beutler's statement, she reiterated her claims -- which she made earlier to Washington newspaper The Daily News -- that McCarthy spoke to Trump as rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, but Trump refused to stop them.

-ABC News’ Cecilia Vega, Katherine Faulders and Ben Siegel

The U.S. Department of State raised Myanmar's travel advisory level to "Level 4: Do Not Travel" Friday, as protests against the military's seizure of power earlier this month continue. 

The updated travel advisory states to not travel to Myanmar "due to COVID-19 as well as areas of civil unrest and armed conflict."

"The Burmese military has detained and deposed elected government officials," the travel advisory states. "Protests and demonstrations against military rule have occurred and are expected to continue."  

The State Department has not ordered the evacuation of U.S. Embassy staff at this time.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan

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