House expected to pass COVID relief bill next week

During remarks at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, one of Biden's first appearances on the global stage, he emphasized a commitment to global alliances and democratic values. Biden's speech also contained a few thinly veiled jabs at former President Donald Trump and indications that Biden intends to reverse Trump's policies.

"I speak to you today as president of the United States, at the very start of my administration, and I'm sending a clear message to the world: America is back," Biden said. "The Transatlantic Alliance is back. And we are not looking backward, we are looking forward together."

Biden called on allies to come together to counter the threats from China and Russia and protect global security, and said the U.S. would rejoin negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. The president also stressed the need for a global response to climate change, touting America's return to the Paris Agreement.

The president also announced the U.S. will contribute $4 billion to the COVID response and vaccination and to global health systems.

"Today, I'm announcing that the United States is making a $2 billion pledge to COVAX, with the promise of an additional $2 billion to urge others to step up as well," Biden said. "Even as we fight to get out of the teeth of the pandemic, the resurgence of Ebola in Africa is a stark reminder that we must simultaneously work to finally finance health security, strengthen global health systems, and create early warning systems to prevent, detect and respond to future biological threats because they will keep coming."

Biden announced the addition of key officials in the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education and the Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday morning.

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure will serve as the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, James Kvaal will serve as under secretary of education, and Richard Sauber will serve as general counsel for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The White House statement added that the hires would, "build a stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive nation."

Biden praised Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., and the Congressional Equality Caucus in a statement Friday morning for introducing the Equality Act, sweeping legislation that protects LGBTQ people from discrimination in the workplace, housing, service and public accommodations, in the House Thursday. 

"The Equality Act provides long overdue federal civil rights protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, locking in critical safeguards in our housing, education, public services, and lending systems — and codifying the courage and resilience of the LGBTQ+ movement into enduring law," Biden wrote in the statement.

Biden called on Congress to pass the bill, saying it will build on the order signed during a flurry of executive actions amid his first days in office that directed agencies to "implement the Supreme Court’s Bostock ruling, and fully enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation."

"No one should ever face discrimination or live in fear because of who they are or whom they love," Biden said in the statement.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle and Mariam Khan

Early excerpts of Biden's remarks released by the White House tease that the president will lament that "in too many places, including in Europe and the United States, democratic progress is under assault," at the Munich Security Conference Friday morning.

In a thinly veiled criticism of his predecessor, Biden will stress democratic values and upholding the rule of law. The administration previewed the speech at length Thursday night, with one senior administration official stressing that, "the focus of his speech tomorrow is not Donald Trump or what's happened over the last four years." However, much of the excerpts read as a reset for America on the world stage.

"We are in the midst of a fundamental debate about the future direction of our world. Between those who argue that – given all of the challenges we face, from the fourth industrial revolution to a global pandemic – autocracy is the best way forward and those who understand that democracy is essential to meeting those challenges. Historians will examine and write about this moment. It’s an inflection point. And I believe with every ounce of my being that democracy must prevail," the excerpt said.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle