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.


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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.


Harris calls NASA astronaut Victor Glover

In honor of Black History Month, NASA astronaut Victor Glover welcomed Harris to the International Space Station via virtual chat.

A pre-recorded video shared on Saturday by NASA, shows Harris and Glover discussing several topics, including the legacy of human spaceflight, observing Earth from the space station and prepping for missions from the Moon to Mars.

Glover is a long-duration crew member on the International Space Station and is responsible for spacecraft systems and performance.


Vote to rename post office delayed over election results vote

Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Miss., took to the House floor on Tuesday to speak in favor of his bill to name a Tupelo post office after U.S. Air Force Col. Carlyle “Smitty” Harris, a Vietnam prisoner of war who was held in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton."

The uncontroversial measure was slated to pass under the suspension of the House rules -- with debate expedited because it had the support of two-thirds of the chamber.

But in a surprise move, Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., blocked the measure, and instead forced the House to take a recorded vote on the bill Tuesday evening.

The reason? Kelly voted to overturn the election results on Jan. 6.

"As Representatives working every day on behalf of the American people, Rep. Casten believes that working with members regardless of political party is at the core of good public policy," Casten's chief of staff Cara Pavlock said in an email obtained by ABC News. "As a general matter, he does not suggest this action against members with whom we merely disagree, but that willingness to collaborate can only extend so far and to those that also hold the core value of upholding democracy."

"The vote to overturn the election results in the midst of a violent insurrection was a bridge too far," Pavlock wrote, adding that Casten also planned to vote against the post office renaming for that reason.

The bill did pass on a vote of 406-15.

The minor procedural dustup is one of many reminders of how Congress is still grappling with the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and that lawmakers are still coming to terms with how to approach colleagues who supported and amplified former President Donald Trump's efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 election.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel