Biden says 'no time to waste' on COVID relief bill

Biden held his first bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Tuesday afternoon, immediately telling Trudeau that he wishes the meeting could have been held in person. 

“I wish I could reciprocate the hospitality you gave me when I visited Ottawa as vice president in 2016. The sooner we get this pandemic under control, the better, and I look forward to seeing you in person in the future,” Biden said, seated at the head of the table between American and Canadian flags.

Biden reiterated the close relationship, saying there is “no closer friend” for the U.S. than Canada. 

In his brief remarks, Biden spoke about their discussion at the G-7 virtual meeting Friday, recalling his message about democracy and the need to protect and prioritize it, a veiled swipe at his predecessor. 

Trudeau welcomed the U.S. back to the world stage, saying the country’s leadership has been “sorely missed” and threw his own veiled swipe at the Trump administration over the repeated times it removed references to climate change from joint statements.

Seated at the table with Biden were Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

In her remarks, Harris brought up the time she spent living in Canada as a teenager while her mother taught at McGill University in Montreal. She said she looks forward to working on shared challenges, including COVID-19, climate change, and Russia and China.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland took a moment to address Harris’ historic role as a “Madam Vice President.”

“I have to tell you, your election has been such an inspiration for women and girls across Canada, especially Black women and girls, and South Asian women and girls. So many of them have told me that directly,” Freeland told Harris. 

As the press was being sent out of the room, Biden said that he took five years of French in school, but did not retain any of it, saying when he attempted to speak it he’d “make such a fool of himself.”

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a remarkably candid moment, told reporters that during a closed-door lunch with his caucus Tuesday, he made a strong pitch for them to set aside differences over specific policies like the minimum wage hike and just vote for the president's COVID-19 relief bill.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., then went a bit further after Schumer left the room and said the majority leader had "begged" his members to drop their opposition, emphasizing that the relief bill is Biden's signature legislation, and they need to stick together. 

"He's begging all of us -- despite disagreements people may have -- this is the Administration's signature bill...And we need to stick together," Durbin recounted.  

Some moderate Democrats like Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have expressed concern about a $15 per hour minimum wage hike included in $1.9 trillion relief proposal. Manchin said an $11 an hour increase would be more appropriate for his state.

Republicans have hammered Democrats for forcing the increase on businesses suffering under the economic strains of the pandemic, but supporters of the wage increase -- a doubling of the current federal minimum wage -- note that the Biden plan is implemented over a five-year period. 

GOP Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Utah's Mitt Romney introduced a plan Tuesday that would increase the minimum wage to $10 per hour by 2025 with a mandatory requirement that businesses implement E-Verify to ensure undocumented workers do not receive the increase. 

The GOP proposal is not expected to be adopted as Democrats speed toward passage of the overall Biden plan.

-ABC News' Trish Turner

The Senate has confirmed Tom Vilsack to serve as secretary of agriculture, in a 92-7 vote.

Sen. Bernie Sanders voted with six Republicans against Vilsack, who had the same role under former President Barack Obama.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel

A spokesperson for Republican Leader Mitch McConnell confirmed reports to ABC News that McConnell intends to support the nomination of Merrick Garland to serve as attorney general. 

McConnell's support for Garland was first reported by Politico. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday wrapped up two days of hearings on Garland's nomination. The committee is scheduled to hold a vote on the nomination on March 1. 

McConnell's support for Garland is in stark contrast to his 2016 efforts that successfully kept Garland from the Supreme Court bench.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin