After the U.S. conducted a military airstrike in eastern Syria along the border with Iraq on Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended the president's authority to carry out the strike amid bipartisan pushback from members of Congress.

"As a matter of domestic law, the president took this action, pursuant to his Article II authority to defend U.S. personnel. The targets were chosen to correspond to the recent attacks on facilities, and to deter the risk of additional attacks over the coming weeks," Psaki said. "As a matter of international law, the United States acted pursuant to its right of self-defense, as reflected in Article 51 of the U.N. charter."

Psaki said the move was "necessary" and "proportionate" and reflected the president's unambiguous commitment to protecting American lives.

The Department of Defense briefed congressional leadership before the action Thursday night, according to a spokesperson on the National Security Council. The administration has been briefing lawmakers at the member and staff level Friday. There will be a full classified briefing early next week, and sooner if Congress wants, according to the spokesperson.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

In honor of the seventh anniversary of the Russian invasion of Crimea on Friday, Biden released a statement affirming the United States support of Ukraine.

“The United States continues to stand with Ukraine and its allies and partners today, as it has from the beginning of this conflict.  On this somber anniversary, we reaffirm a simple truth: Crimea is Ukraine,” Biden said.

Biden added that the U.S. will never recognize Crimea as part of Russia, and will "continue to work to hold Russia accountable for its abuses and aggression in Ukraine.”

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Biden’s top economic adviser Brian Deese said Friday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that the White House and congressional leadership are on the next path forward on minimum wage after the decision by the Senate parliamentarian Thursday that a $15 minimum wage hike could not be included in the American Rescue Plan if passed by reconciliation.

“We were disappointed by the parliamentarian’s ruling," he said, adding that Biden put minumum wage in his American Rescue Plan "because we believe is a justified, and in fact urgently needed, step forward. Passing the minimum wage would get a raise to 27 million Americans," Deese said.

But Deese would not bite when asked if the White House was rethinking the filibuster after the decision, only saying the White House was working with congressional allies to figure out the best way forward.

"We're going to consult with congressional allies, leadership to talk about a path forward on how we can make progress urgently on what is an urgent issue. At the same time, we need to act on this rescue plan. As hopeful as we all are about the trajectory of the virus, there are real risks and we need to act urgently now,” Deese said.

“The president has campaigned on the $15 minimum wage, he believes in it, he's committed to getting it done,” Deese said.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Biden will travel to Houston, Texas, on Friday with first lady Jill Biden in the wake of deadly winter storms that left millions without power and killed at least 17.

During his visit, the president will tour the Harris County Emergency Operations Center. Then the first lady will visit the Houston Food Bank to package food and water for the local community. After that, she and the president will meet with volunteers at the food bank. Biden will then visit a COVID-19 vaccination site, where he’ll deliver remarks.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki previewed the trip during a briefing on Thursday and noted that Biden would survey damage from the storm with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for the majority of the day. She also said that the trip was not a political one. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is also expected to meet Biden in Houston.

“He views it as an issue where he's eager to get relief to tap into all the resources in the federal government to make sure the people of Texas know we're thinking about them, we’re fighting for them, and we're going to continue working on this as they're recovering. There is plenty of time to have a policy discussion about better weatherization, better preparations," Psaki said. "And I'm sure that's one that will be had, but right now, we're focused on getting relief to the people in the state, getting updated briefings, tapping into all of the levers of federal government.”

One hundred and sixty chief executive officers sent an open letter to congressional leadership Wednesday, urging lawmakers to pass "immediate and large-scale federal legislation to address the health and economic crises brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic" on a bipartisan basis.

The letter asks Congress to "to authorize a stimulus and relief package along the lines of the Biden-Harris administration’s proposed American Rescue Plan," perhaps leaving some room for negotiation on what the final package will look like. But the letter makes clear that major business CEOs, including the heads of Morgan Stanley, Visa, United Airlines, BlackRock, Comcast and Google are pushing for relief on the scale of Biden's plan.

"The American Rescue Plan provides a framework for coordinated public-private efforts to overcome COVID-19 and to move forward with a new era of inclusive growth. The country’s business community is prepared to work with you to achieve these critical objectives," the letter says.

Just Tuesday, though, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, one of the few Senate Republicans who has shown willingness to buck his party, criticized the $1.9 trillion bill in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

"The $1.9 trillion bill is a clunker. It would waste hundreds of billions of dollars, do nothing meaningful to get kids back to school, and enact policies that work against job creation. The Congressional Budget Office’s recent analysis of the plan found that more than a third of the proposed funding—$700 billion—wouldn’t be spent until 2022 or later, undermining the administration’s claim that the massive price tag is justified for urgent pandemic-related needs," Romney wrote.

Whether the pressure from big business will sway any Republicans in the Senate remains to be seen, but Wednesday morning's messaging from GOP lawmakers is pretty clear: They have no intentions of budging.

-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky