House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy during his weekly press conference on Capitol Hill slammed the COVID-19 relief bill the House will be voting on Friday. He showed up to his press conference wearing a sticker that said "NO PELOSI PAYOFFS" in protest of the planned vote.

"This isn't a relief bill," McCarthy said. "It takes care of Democrats' political allies while it fails to deliver for American families."

McCarthy emphasized that he will vote against the bill Friday. Asked what he thought about Democrats' decision to keep the $15 minimum wage hike in their bill despite the fact that it will likely be stripped from the bill when it heads to the Senate, McCarthy said he thinks Pelosi is just doing it to keep the progressives in her party happy.

"So to me it's just more politics, and it's wrong because you know in the Senate it's just not gonna survive," McCarthy said.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan

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

The White House was surprised to discover that Johnson & Johnson will only have about 3 to 4 million doses of its vaccine ready to ship once the FDA grants an emergency use authorization, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a press briefing Wednesday.

Johnson & Johnson had estimated it could ship 12 million doses at the end of February in a $1 billion contract signed with the federal government in August.

“We were surprised to learn that Johnson & Johnson was behind on their manufacturing. As you noted, it was kind of reported earlier to be about 10 million, and now it's more like 3 to 4 million doses that they would be ready to ship next week if they are moved through the FDA process, which is not yet concluded, just to note," Psaki said. "And we are going to continue to work with them on ensuring that that can be expedited.”

Despite the initial availability, Johnson & Johnson has said it expects 20 million doses to be available by the end of March and to meet its contractual obligation for 100 million doses by the end of June.

-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky