Here is how the day is unfolding. All times Eastern.
Feb 23, 2021, 10:46 AM EST
Biden to thank Black essential workers, meet with Trudeau
On Tuesday afternoon, the president will meet virtually with a group of Black essential workers to thank them for their critical roles during the pandemic.
Then, Biden will participate in his first bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and after give a statement on the meeting.
Feb 23, 2021, 10:12 AM EST
3 Biden nominees considered by Senate
Three of Biden's picks for key administration positions have hearings before Senate committees Tuesday.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing to consider Debra Haaland for secretary of the Interior. If the Senate confirms her as secretary of the interior, Haaland would be the first Native American to serve in a presidential Cabinet and would be the first Native person to oversee an agency that's played a major role historically in the forced relocation and oppression of Indigenous people.
Sen. Alex Padilla, Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) nominee, and Senator Dianne Feinstein attend Becerra's confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Feb. 23, 2021, in Washington, DC.
Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee will consider Xavier Becerra to serve as secretary of health and human services.
Republican opposition to Becerra has been mounting since Biden announced his nomination in December. On Monday, a group of Republican lawmakers penned a letter to Biden urging him to withdraw Becerra's nomination.
The group of lawmakers, including 11 senators and many more members of the House, argued that Becerra is inexperienced and ill-prepared to guide the agency. Democrats have argued that Becerra has extensive experience in health care policy, first as a congressman who oversaw components of Medicare and then as a defendant of Obamacare as attorney general, using that role to add new focus on the issue.
Deb Haaland is sworn in during the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on her nomination to be Interior Secretary on Capitol Hill, Feb. 23, 2021, in Washington, DC.
Garland received a fairly warm welcome from both sides of the aisle during Monday's hearing, and a few GOP senators expressed their support for Garland. In the first half of his confirmation hearing Monday, he told senators his first briefing once he takes office at the Justice Department will be on the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett, Allison Pecorin, Luke Barr and Alexander Mallin
Feb 22, 2021, 8:53 PM EST
US sanctions 2 more Myanmar military commanders
The U.S. Treasury announced sanctions on two more Myanmar military commanders, specifically citing the killing of three peaceful protesters in recent days.
Moe Myint Tun and Maung Maung Kyaw are both generals who were named by the military to join the state administration council, the coup’s new ruling body.
This brings the total number of sanctioned Myanmar officials to 12, and it comes days after the British and Canadian governments followed the Biden administration in sanctioning coup leaders. The European Union’s foreign affairs council announced Monday that it “stands ready to adopt restrictive measures targeting those directly responsible for the military coup and their economic interests” and review Myanmar’s trade status.
“Those directly responsible” have shown no sign of even acknowledging whatever financial pressure these penalties bring -- although it is meant as a message to the millions who have protested in recent days against the coup that the U.S. is actively watching.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated Biden’s call for the military to relinquish power, free political prisoners, and halt attacks on peaceful protests, saying Monday evening in a statement, “We will not hesitate to take further action against those who perpetrate violence and suppress the will of the people. We will not waver in our support for the people of Burma.”
-ABC News' Conor Finnegan
Feb 22, 2021, 6:25 PM EST
Biden, Harris lead moment of silence
Following his brief speech, Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff walked out to the South Portico at the White House where candles were lit and displayed on the steps for the moment of silence.
President Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff attend a moment of silence and candle lighting ceremony to commemorate the grim milestone of 500,000 U.S. deaths from COVID-19 at the White House, Feb. 22, 2021.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Earlier, the National Cathedral rang its bells to honor the more than 500,000 Americans who died from the coronavirus.
"I received a letter from a daughter whose father died of COVID-19 on Easter Sunday last year," Biden said before the ceremony. "She and her children, his grandchildren, enter Lent this season, a season of reflection and renewal, with heavy hearts. Unable to properly mourn, she asked me in the letter, what was our loss among so many others? Well, that's what has been so cruel."
President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden commemorate the grim milestone of 500,000 U.S. deaths from the COVID-19 during a moment of silence and candle lighting ceremony at the White House, Feb. 22, 2021.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
"So many of the rituals that help us cope, that help us honor those we loved, haven't been available to us. The final rites, with family gathered around, the proper home going, showered with stories and love, tribal leaders passing out the final traditions of sacred cultures on sacred lands," he continued. "As a nation, we cannot and we must not let this go on. That's why the day before my inauguration ... I said, 'to heal -- to heal, we must remember.' I know it's hard. I promise you, I know it's hard. I remember. But that's how you heal. You have to remember."
President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, hold a moment of silence and candelight ceremony in honor of those who lost their lives to Coronavirus on the South Lawn of the White House, Feb. 22, 2021.