Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., a top Republican on the Appropriations Committee, is throwing his weight behind an alternative nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget: Shalanda Young.

Young was nominated by Biden to be deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. Young was most recently the staff director at House Appropriations, and she and Shelby have a close working relationship.

“I believe she would be good in that role. She’s smart, she knows the process inside-out, and she’s an honest broker who has demonstrated the ability to work with both sides and get things done. She would have my support, and I suspect many of my Republican colleagues would support her, as well," Shelby said in a statement. "But that’s up to the Biden Administration.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked about Shelby's support on Wednesday and the possibility of Young being a Neera Tanden replacement, but she made clear that the White House maintains support for Tanden.

-ABC News' Trish Turner

Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., will vote to confirm Rep. Deb Haaland's, D-Ariz., nomination to serve as secretary of the interior, easing concerns that Haaland's appointment could be in jeopardy.

Manchin has been in close focus on this and other nominations this week, as the moderate Democrat has significant ability to jeopardize nominees in the evenly divided Senate.

Manchin has said he will oppose the nomination of Neera Tanden to the Office of Management and Budget and has not committed to a position on Xavier Becerra's nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

"I believe that every Presidential nominee and every Member of Congress must be committed to a new era of bipartisanship. That is the standard the overwhelming majority of Americans expect and deserve," Manchin said in a statement. "With respect to Representative Haaland and her confirmation hearing, while we do not agree on every issue, she reaffirmed her strong commitment to bipartisanship, addressing the diverse needs of our country and maintaining our nation’s energy independence."

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

Biden has officially extended the national emergency declared over the COVID-19 pandemic beyond March 1. By law, the national emergency would have ended a year after it was declared unless the president took action within 90 days of the expiration date.

"The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause significant risk to the public health and safety of the Nation," Biden wrote in his letter to Congress. "More than 500,000 people in this Nation have perished from the disease, and it is essential to continue to combat and respond to COVID-19 with the full capacity and capability of the Federal Government."

The national emergency was initially ordered by former President Donald Trump on March 13, 2020, freeing up financial resources for the country as the pandemic took hold.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

After an expanded detention facility for child migrants reopened in Carrizo Springs, Texas, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., tweeted Tuesday, “This is not okay, never has been okay, never will be okay - no matter the administration or party.”

In a press briefing Wednesday, Psaki attempted to cast the Biden administration’s efforts to manage immigration as a major improvement over President Donald Trump’s policies but didn’t fully address Ocasio-Cortez's criticism that such facilities shouldn’t exist at all.

Psaki said the administration had three options when it comes to child migrants: to send them back to their countries (which she said can be dangerous), to transfer them to a facility managed by the Department of Health and Human Services, or to put them in the care of families or sponsors "without any vetting." She said the administration has chosen the middle option.

“What we are doing is working as quickly as possible to process these kids into these HHS facilities, which have been revamped, which have medical and educational services available, so that we can then transfer them to families. That's what our approach is,” Psaki said.

Psaki would not commit to a request to allow media in to prove that children are treated humanely, citing privacy and security concerns. Psaki tried to explain the administration’s options in dealing with minors at the border and why the detention facilities have become a primary strategy.

“This is a difficult situation. It's a difficult choice. That's the choice we've made,” she said.

Psaki also attempted to defend delays in transferring children from facilities run by Customs and Border Protection, which often lack amenities, to Health and Human Service facilities that are intended for longer-term care. By law, children are supposed to spend no more than 72 hours in Customs and Border Protection facilities after initial apprehension.

“There were some delays last week because of weather, and because some of these facilities to safely move these kids to, did not have power and were not in a place where they could -- they had the capacity to take in these kids and do it safely. That is not our objective. That is not our goal," Psaki said. "So some, unfortunately, did stay four days, five days, or longer, but the objective is to move them as quickly as possible to the HHS sponsored facilities.”

-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky

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