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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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


Lawmakers honor of the more than 500K who died of COVID-19

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and other members of Congress gathered outside the U.S. Capitol to observe a moment of silence for the more than 500,000 Americans who died of COVID-19.

There were 500 electric candles were used for the occasion, with some members holding them and the rest lining the steps of the Capitol.

Sgt. 1st Class Andre McRae of the U.S. Army Band sang two songs and when he sang "God Bless America," several of the lawmakers joined him in singing.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan


Biden holds first bilateral meeting with Canadian prime minister

Biden held his first bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Tuesday afternoon, immediately telling Trudeau that he wishes the meeting could have been held in person.

“I wish I could reciprocate the hospitality you gave me when I visited Ottawa as vice president in 2016. The sooner we get this pandemic under control, the better, and I look forward to seeing you in person in the future,” Biden said, seated at the head of the table between American and Canadian flags.

Biden reiterated the close relationship, saying there is “no closer friend” for the U.S. than Canada.

In his brief remarks, Biden spoke about their discussion at the G-7 virtual meeting Friday, recalling his message about democracy and the need to protect and prioritize it, a veiled swipe at his predecessor.

Trudeau welcomed the U.S. back to the world stage, saying the country’s leadership has been “sorely missed” and threw his own veiled swipe at the Trump administration over the repeated times it removed references to climate change from joint statements.

Seated at the table with Biden were Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

In her remarks, Harris brought up the time she spent living in Canada as a teenager while her mother taught at McGill University in Montreal. She said she looks forward to working on shared challenges, including COVID-19, climate change, and Russia and China.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland took a moment to address Harris’ historic role as a “Madam Vice President.”

“I have to tell you, your election has been such an inspiration for women and girls across Canada, especially Black women and girls, and South Asian women and girls. So many of them have told me that directly,” Freeland told Harris.

As the press was being sent out of the room, Biden said that he took five years of French in school, but did not retain any of it, saying when he attempted to speak it he’d “make such a fool of himself.”

-ABC News' Molly Nagle


Schumer 'begged' Dems to vote for COVID-19 relief bill

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a remarkably candid moment, told reporters that during a closed-door lunch with his caucus Tuesday, he made a strong pitch for them to set aside differences over specific policies like the minimum wage hike and just vote for the president's COVID-19 relief bill.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., then went a bit further after Schumer left the room and said the majority leader had "begged" his members to drop their opposition, emphasizing that the relief bill is Biden's signature legislation, and they need to stick together.

"He's begging all of us -- despite disagreements people may have -- this is the Administration's signature bill...And we need to stick together," Durbin recounted.

Some moderate Democrats like Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have expressed concern about a $15 per hour minimum wage hike included in $1.9 trillion relief proposal. Manchin said an $11 an hour increase would be more appropriate for his state.

Republicans have hammered Democrats for forcing the increase on businesses suffering under the economic strains of the pandemic, but supporters of the wage increase -- a doubling of the current federal minimum wage -- note that the Biden plan is implemented over a five-year period.

GOP Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Utah's Mitt Romney introduced a plan Tuesday that would increase the minimum wage to $10 per hour by 2025 with a mandatory requirement that businesses implement E-Verify to ensure undocumented workers do not receive the increase.

The GOP proposal is not expected to be adopted as Democrats speed toward passage of the overall Biden plan.

-ABC News' Trish Turner


WH faces questions on child immigration policy

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