Biden's 1st 100 days live updates: Senate passes COVID relief bill along party lines
The final vote was 50-49.
Today is Day 46 of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Latest headlines:
WH says it will work with Congress on rein in war powers
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Twitter Friday morning that the White House will work with Congress to replace the current authorizations for the use of military force with "a narrow and specific framework" -- endorsing Sen. Tim Kaine’s, D-Va., longtime work on the issue.
“Tim Kaine has been a leader on questions of war powers throughout his time in the Senate and has helped build a strong bipartisan coalition that understands the importance of Congress’s constitutional prerogatives,” Psaki tweeted.
After notifying Congress, the president can authorize military operations overseas. But combat military operations lasting longer than 60 days require a congressional declaration of war or authorized use of military force.
The White House says it will work with Congress to replace the AUMFs "currently on the books" with more narrow and specific framework to rein in "forever wars," a common criticism of broad war powers.
“We are committed to working with Congress to ensure that the authorizations for the use of military force currently on the books are replaced with a narrow and specific framework that will ensure we can protect Americans from terrorist threats while ending the forever wars,” Psaki said.
-ABC News' Molly Nagle
Biden to make final push for COVID relief as Senate debates bill
As the Senate debates the COVID-19 relief bill today, Biden will be making a final push for the package with a focus on the economy at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Biden receives a briefing from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at 2:15 p.m., and then participates in a roundtable on the $1.9 trillion "American Rescue Package" afterward at 3:15 p.m. Later, Biden and Harris receive a briefing on the pandemic at 5:30 p.m.
The White House COVID-19 Response Team holds a press briefing at 11 a.m., and White House press secretary Jen Psaki will brief at 12:30 p.m.
-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky
Biden officials to visit southern border, trip details minimal
Biden is sending senior members of his team to the southern border to see first-hand the influx of unaccompanied minors crossing the border -- but beyond the reason and the existence of the trip, the White House is not revealing any additional details.
White House spokesperson Vedant Patel told ABC News in a statement that the president has asked these senior members of his team to travel there "in order to provide a full briefing to him on the government response to the influx ... and an assessment of additional steps that can be taken to ensure the safety and care of these children."
"Out of safety, security, and privacy concerns the date and time of this visit will remain confidential but the White House will provide a read out of the visit once it concludes," Patel continued.
-ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega and Molly Nagle
Biden thanks and congratulates NASA's Perseverance team
Biden thanked and congratulated the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) team involved in the successful landing of the Perseverance rover on Mars in a video call Thursday evening.
The president sat at the desk facing a large monitor, another one over his shoulder. He took no questions, but spoke at length with the NASA team, thanking them for all their work and everything they’ve done to inspire and bring hope to the nation.
"You feel like you’re living a dream. You’ve created a dream for millions of young kids and Americans. You all did this," Biden said.
He said the team had restored "a dose of confidence in the American people" and that it was a result of their belief in "science and hard work."
"It’s bigger than landing on Mars," the president said. "It’s about the American spirit. And you did it. It matters. Democracies have to show how they can run better than autocracies. I can’t tell you how much I believe historians will write about what you did at the moment you did it. You should take great pride in it. We can land on Mars. Beat a pandemic, with science. God only knows what will come from this. I just wanted to thank you. Tell you I am so proud of you. Not a thing we cannot do when we set our minds to it."
NASA's Perseverance rover successfully touched down on Mars in late February. It was one of the agency's most ambitious deep-space missions designed to search for signs of ancient life on the planet.
Present were members of the team including Michael Watkins, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Swati Mohan, guidance and controls operations lead of Mars 2020, Luis Dominguez, deputy electrical lead of Mars 2020, Matt Smith, spacecraft systems engineer and Researcher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Annalise Sundberg, Assembly, Test, & Launch Operations systems engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Also on the call were more than 6,080 employees of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from across the country.
-ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce and Sarah Kolinovsky