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

Biden toured the Harris County Emergency Operations Center in Houston as the first first stop on his trip in Texas in the wake of deadly winter storms. He was joined by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and other lawmakers and local officials.

"It’s a hell of an operation you’ve got here," Biden said upon arriving to the center.

The director of the center, Mark Sloan, detailed the operations of the facility and of the impact of the winter storms on the region. He said that of the 5 million residents in the county, the storm left 1.5 million people without power and heat and detailed the county's trouble getting water to residents, noting that approximately 3.5 million were without water. He talked about the emergency response, including handing out meals and water.

Biden thanked the workers, saying they were saving lives and "doing God's work."

In a statement shared with Congress, the Biden administration announced Friday that it is creating a new “Khashoggi policy” to impose visa restrictions on any foreign official believed to be directly involved in plots against dissidents, or any “serious, extraterritorial counter-dissident activities,” like the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. 

The State Department has identified 76 Saudi individuals who Secretary of State Antony Blinken says have been hit with these penalties. It’s unclear if Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is in that group because visas are confidential under U.S. law. But the “Khashoggi ban,” as Blinken calls it, will apply to their family members as well. 

The Treasury Department has also sanctioned one former Saudi official, Deputy Intelligence Chief Ahmad Hassan Mohammed al Asiri, another close confidant of bin Salman, but one who was fired after Khashoggi’s murder. But for now, bin Salman escapes U.S. financial penalties—with many U.S. lawmakers already calling for him to face specific sanctions. 

“While the United States remains invested in its relationship with Saudi Arabia, President Biden has made clear that partnership must reflect U.S. values,” Blinken said, adding the U.S. will no longer tolerate these extraterritorial plots and the State Department will begin reporting on them in its annual human rights report.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan and Trish Turner

Biden was greeted on the tarmac in Texas on Friday by Gov. Greg Abbott who he fist-bumped after touching down for his first presidential disaster visit.

Biden was also greeted on the tarmac by a group of lawmakers including Democratic Texas Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, Al Green, Lizzie Pannill Fletcher and Sylvia Garcia, as well as Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo.

First lady Jill Biden also gave a fist-bump to Abbott and accepted a bouquet of flowers, as Biden bumped elbows with Jackson Lee and Green, who also took a photo of him. Biden stood near the two Democratic lawmakers and chatted for a few moments before moving on to speak with other elected officials.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy during his weekly press conference on Capitol Hill slammed the COVID-19 relief bill the House will be voting on Friday. He showed up to his press conference wearing a sticker that said "NO PELOSI PAYOFFS" in protest of the planned vote.

"This isn't a relief bill," McCarthy said. "It takes care of Democrats' political allies while it fails to deliver for American families."

McCarthy emphasized that he will vote against the bill Friday. Asked what he thought about Democrats' decision to keep the $15 minimum wage hike in their bill despite the fact that it will likely be stripped from the bill when it heads to the Senate, McCarthy said he thinks Pelosi is just doing it to keep the progressives in her party happy.

"So to me it's just more politics, and it's wrong because you know in the Senate it's just not gonna survive," McCarthy said. 

-ABC News' Mariam Khan