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

Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Miss., took to the House floor on Tuesday to speak in favor of his bill to name a Tupelo post office after U.S. Air Force Col. Carlyle “Smitty” Harris, a Vietnam prisoner of war who was held in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton."

The uncontroversial measure was slated to pass under the suspension of the House rules -- with debate expedited because it had the support of two-thirds of the chamber. 

But in a surprise move, Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., blocked the measure, and instead forced the House to take a recorded vote on the bill Tuesday evening. 

The reason? Kelly voted to overturn the election results on Jan. 6. 

"As Representatives working every day on behalf of the American people, Rep. Casten believes that working with members regardless of political party is at the core of good public policy," Casten's chief of staff Cara Pavlock said in an email obtained by ABC News. "As a general matter, he does not suggest this action against members with whom we merely disagree, but that willingness to collaborate can only extend so far and to those that also hold the core value of upholding democracy."

"The vote to overturn the election results in the midst of a violent insurrection was a bridge too far," Pavlock wrote, adding that Casten also planned to vote against the post office renaming for that reason. 

The bill did pass on a vote of 406-15.

The minor procedural dustup is one of many reminders of how Congress is still grappling with the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and that lawmakers are still coming to terms with how to approach colleagues who supported and amplified former President Donald Trump's efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 election.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and other members of Congress gathered outside the U.S. Capitol to observe a moment of silence for the more than 500,000 Americans who died of COVID-19.

There were 500 electric candles were used for the occasion, with some members holding them and the rest lining the steps of the Capitol.

Sgt. 1st Class Andre McRae of the U.S. Army Band sang two songs and when he sang "God Bless America," several of the lawmakers joined him in singing.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan

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