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

He made brief remarks Saturday after the House passed the legislation.

This is Day 40 of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.


Christie: A lot of Trump's policies are things Republicans support

Ahead of former President Donald Trump's address at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, Sunday afternoon, ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos asked former New Jersey Governor and ABC News contributor Chris Christie about statements made by Republican leaders in recent weeks.

"Three weeks ago, you had Mitch McConnell saying the president bears responsibility for the siege.  Kevin McCarthy says the same thing.  Kevin McCarthy's at CPAC saying this is Trump's Republican Party.  Mitch McConnell says he'd vote for him in 2024," Stephanopoulos said.

"The bottom line is this, George.  You know, Donald Trump is not a departing two-term president like George W. Bush was and as a result, he's got an opportunity to come back again if he wants to.  And there are going to be some in the party who want him and there are going to be some in the party who don't," Christie said. "But what is consistent is many of the policies that were pursued over the last four years -- take aside the personality; take aside the tweets -- a lot of those policies are things that Republicans support."


Fauci: Need to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized use of a third COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S., declaring the Johnson & Johnson vaccine safe and effective in adults 18 and older.

ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos asked Dr. Anthony Fauci about hesitancy from people over its reported efficacy compared to others.

"What do you say to those who want to wait for Moderna and Pfizr?" Stephanopoulos asked.

"We have to get away from that line of thought," Fauci responded. "We have three highly efficacious vaccines. Safe and efficacious."

"If I went into a clinic and said we have JJ now, I would take the one that is available to me now," Fauci continued.


Biden sends letter on Syria airstrike to leaders of House, Senate

The White House released a letter Saturday from President Biden to the speaker of the House and president pro tempore of the Senate on the airstrike in eastern Syria, in his effort to keep Congress "fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Act."

"I directed this military action consistent with my responsibility to protect United States citizens both at home and abroad and in furtherance of United States national security and foreign policy interests, pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct United States foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive. The United States took this action pursuant to the United States' inherent right of self-defense as reflected in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter," Biden wrote in the letter.

This comes following some bipartisan criticism the White House received over the decision to carry out the airstrike in Syria.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle



Biden teases announcement on US actions with Saudi Arabia after Khashoggi report

As Biden departed the White House to board Marine One Saturday afternoon, he was asked if he planned to punish Saudi Arabia’s crown prince following a U.S. intelligence report that concluded he ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Biden carefully teased an announcement but said it wouldn’t specifically pertain to Khashoggi’s murder.

He said, “there will be an announcement on Monday as to what we’re going to be doing with Saudi Arabia in general.”

The president then left the White House for Delaware.

On Friday the Office of Director of National Intelligence released a highly anticipated report on the death of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and Saudi dissident who was murdered and dismembered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in Oct. 2018.

It revealed the U.S. intelligence community found Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation to capture or kill him.

The Saudi government has denied that that the crown prince was involved and instead blamed the death on a rogue team of government agents.

The killing has roiled the United States' longstanding ties with Saudi Arabia.

Biden said he spoke to King Salman on Thursday, one day before the report was released.


Republicans vote by proxy -- after slamming the idea a year ago

Rep. Ted Budd, R-N.C., had a message for Democrats last summer about their proxy voting system set up during the pandemic: it was an "unconstitutional scheme."

"If you use Nancy Pelosi's proxy to skip work, you shouldn't get paid. It's as simple as that," he said in a June 30 Facebook video introducing his new bill withholding member pay for proxy voting.

Budd wasn't alone: A handful of House Republicans previously critical of the proxy vote system submitted letters to have colleagues vote for them, while they were scheduled to appear at CPAC.

Freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., tweeted last summer that leaders "show up no matter how uncertain the times are," and that Democrats were "cowards for hiding" and proxy voting.

He was also in Orlando on Friday, telling conservatives activists, "If we sit on the sidelines, we will not have a country to inherit."

"If we do not get involved and say that it is our duty to make sure that our country is responsible, that our country doesn't take away our liberties, then my friends, we will lose this nation," Cawthorn said.

Others Republicans scheduled to appear at CPAC on Friday who also planned to vote by proxy included Reps. Greg Steube of Florida, Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, and Matt Gaetz of Florida, who was one of the first Republicans to support proxy voting.

Curtis Kalin, a spokesman for Budd, said the congressman still opposes proxy voting, and will donate his salary for the days he used the system to a restaurant relief fund, given his bill last year, "The No Pay for Proxy Voting Act."

The Republicans who attended CPAC aren't alone in their questionable use of the proxy voting system -- established by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., last year to cut down member travel to Washington during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., was caught voting during a Transportation Committee hearing from a boat during a family trip to Utah. Stanton later apologized and said he "messed up." And several House Democrats voted by proxy last May in order to attend a SpaceX rocket launch in Florida.-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel