House expected to pass COVID relief bill next week

The legislation includes an increase to the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Last Updated: February 25, 2021, 1:45 AM EST

This is Day 33 of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Top headlines:

Here is how events are unfolding. All times Eastern.
Feb 15, 2021, 4:26 PM EST

Pelosi announces a 9/11-type commission to investigate insurrection

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that Congress will take the steps to establish a Sept. 11-type commission to investigate the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

"Now, as always, security is the order of the day: the security of our country, the security of our Capitol which is the temple of our democracy, and the security of our Members," she wrote in a letter to her Democratic colleagues.

Retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré was appointed to issue a report on Capitol security following the riot.

"It is clear from his findings and from the impeachment trial that we must get to the truth of how this happened," Pelosi's letter continued. "To protect our security, our security, our security, our next step will be to establish an outside, independent 9/11-type Commission to 'investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021 domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex … and relating to the interference with the peaceful transfer of power, including facts and causes relating to the preparedness and response of the United States Capitol Police and other Federal, State, and local law enforcement in the National Capitol Region.'"

Feb 15, 2021, 11:33 AM EST

Republicans across country support Biden COVID relief plan, White House aide says

White House Senior Advisor and Director of the Office of Public Engagement Cedric Richmond said this morning that Biden has gotten support from Republicans across the country for his COVID relief plan -- even if GOP members of Congress in Washington are balking, especially at the projected cost.

"We have many Republican mayors, we have Republican governors, we have more than 50% of Republicans in this country, 46% of Trump supporters. There is just one place we don't have anybody who has signed on yet and that's in the United States Congress, but we are still working every day to see if we can earn Republican support for the plan. But what we won't do is slow down and not meet the needs of the American people by just waiting, whether it's obstruction or just inertia, President Biden is not willing to wait," Richmond said on CNN.

Then Rep. Cedric Richmond, left, and then Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden greet each other as Biden arrives at Columbus Airport on Oct. 27, 2020, in Columbus, Georgia.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images, File

Richmond argued that past COVID-19 plans have been reactionary, but Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris want to “get in front of it,” with the nearly $2 trillion package they’ve proposed.

"We're going to keep moving on in a bipartisan manner, but we are not going to fail the American people," he added.

Richmond dodged a question when pressed on the fate of the $15 dollar federal minimum wage in the bill, given that both Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sen. Krysten Sinema, D-Ariz., have said they would not vote for COVID-19 relief that included the increase.

"We will [what] happens in the Senate, because Senator Sanders is pushing it. We know that there is some reluctance, but look, that's not the real question. The real question is why do people in this country, why do we think it's okay people go to work for 40 hours week and still make less than the poverty level? That should not be acceptable in this country. If you work 40 hours a week, you should be able to sustain your family," Richmond said. "So that's where we are focused on."

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Feb 15, 2021, 9:57 AM EST

Biden says 'encouraging' that Congress moving on COVID relief

President Biden, who largely steered clear of the Trump impeachment trial, will push full-steam ahead this week with a focus on his COVID-19 relief plan now that the trial is no longer capturing the national spotlight.

"It will increase federal subsidies and decrease premiums in order to ensure that no one pays more than 8.5 percent of their income to purchase meaningful and comprehensive health coverage. And it incentivizes states to expand coverage to an additional four million people with low incomes, and provides states the opportunity to extend coverage for a year to low-income women who have recently given birth," Biden said.

PHOTO: *** BESTPIX *** WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 10:  U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as he makes a statement at the South Court Auditorium at Eisenhower Executive Building February 10, 2021 in Washington, DC.
*** BESTPIX *** WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 10: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as he makes a statement at the South Court Auditorium at Eisenhower Executive Building February 10, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden made a statement on the coup in Burma.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

This week, he’ll make his first two official trips domestically, taking part in a CNN town hall in Wisconsin on Tuesday, and heading to a Michigan Pfizer manufacturing facility on Thursday. Biden will also attend a virtual G-7 meeting on Friday where COVID is expected to be a topic of discussion, and virtually address the Munich Security Conference.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle