Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBy LIBBY CATHEY, JACK ARNHOLZ, LAUREN KING and MICHELLE STODDART, ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — This is Day Nine of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.Here is how events are unfolding. All times Eastern:
Jan 28, 11:33 am
McCarthy to meet with Trump in Florida amid intraparty feud
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is traveling to Mar-a-Lago Thursday to meet with former President Donald Trump amid Republican Party infighting in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and Trump’s second impeachment.
On Wednesday, McCarthy implored GOP colleagues on a conference call to stop attacking each other and to focus on countering the agenda from Democrats and President Biden, a person familiar with his remarks confirmed to ABC News.
“Cut that crap out,” he said of the intra-party attacks. “If you’re not focused on what you’re doing and what the Democrats are doing wrong, and you’re focused on talking about one another, I’m not putting up with that anymore.”
Some conservatives are threatening to back a primary challenger against No. 3 House Republican Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and nine other Republicans who backed Trump’s impeachment. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is traveling to Wyoming Thursday to rally against her, and other far-right members of the conference want her removed from party leadership.
McCarthy is expected to confront the issue at a conference meeting next week, as he also works to mend his relationship with Trump. Although McCarthy did not join the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, he said in his floor remarks at the time, “The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters.”
Jan 28, 11:27 am
Schumer says Senate will move on COVID-19 relief next week
In line with the priorities of the Biden administration, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in his floor remarks Thursday said Democrats will begin moving forward on COVID-19 relief next week — with or without their Republican colleagues.
“If our Republican colleagues decide to oppose this urgent and necessary legislation we will have to move forward with out them,” Schumer said. “We have a responsibility to help the American people fast. The Senate will begin that work next week.”
Schumer said earlier this week that Democrats should be prepared to vote on a budget resolution next week — the first step on moving forward with budget reconciliation, which could allow Democrats to pass some COVID-19 priorities without Republican support.
“The dangers of undershooting our response are far greater than overshooting,” Schumer added.
Jan 28, 10:22 am
Biden to tackle health care as bipartisan duo looks to censure Trump
Biden will tackle the issue of health care on Thursday with two executive actions — one aimed at expanding enrollment for the Affordable Care Act amid the coronavirus pandemic and another that addresses reproductive health, according to the White House.
The president is expected to sign an executive order that will open a three-month enrollment period from Feb. 15 to May 15, allowing more Americans to sign up for health care as COVID-19 continues to engulf the country.
He will address reproductive health in a presidential memorandum, rescinding the Mexico City Policy, often referred to as the “global gag rule,” which was expanded under former President Donald Trump and blocks U.S. funding to international nonprofits that provide counseling or referrals for abortion, review Title X funding on abortion and remove the country’s endorsement of the Geneva Consensus, a non-binding declaration signed by countries opposed to abortion and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2020.
The White House is also working to push Biden’s COVID-19 relief package and pushing back on a reporting the administration is considering splitting the proposal in two with the thinking a smaller package could gain more bipartisan support.
“We are engaging with a range of voices — that’s democracy in action — we aren’t looking to split a package in two,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted Thursday morning.
Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, with the outcome of Trump’s impeachment trial all but certain to end without a conviction, a bipartisan Senate duo is working on a resolution that for the second time in history would censure a U.S. president — and this one could potentially bar Trump from office by including elements of the 14th Amendment. The resolution might force Republicans to take a position on Trump’s actions rather than focusing on procedural arguments, but it’s unclear how much momentum it might gain with the trial set to begin Feb. 9 and with Biden hoping to push his priorities through the chamber.
Jan 28, 9:46 am
White House sends first second gentleman schedule in US history
The office of the vice president has released the first-ever “Daily Guidance for the Second Gentleman.”
It’s the first-ever public schedule for an American vice president’s husband because Doug Emhoff is the nation’s first ever second gentleman, tacking onto Harris’ historic first as the highest-ranking woman in U.S. government. However, Emhoff has participated in some events with Harris, which have been noted on her schedule as vice president.
The event on Emhoff’s schedule for Thursday is a 3 p.m. visit to a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit “focused on food security and economic opportunity.”
In another historic first, the nation’s first second gentlemen is also the first Jewish spouse, of any gender, for the presidency or vice presidency.
Jan 28, 5:48 am
Biden to address health care in two new executive actions
Biden will tackle the issue of health care on Thursday with two executive actions — one aimed at expanding enrollment for the Affordable Care Act amid the coronavirus pandemic and another that addresses reproductive health, according to the White House.
The president is expected to sign an executive order that will open a three-month enrollment period from Feb. 15 to May 15 on Healthcare.gov, allowing more Americans to sign up for health care as COVID-19 continues to engulf the country, according to a fact sheet outlining Biden’s planned actions.
Biden will also address the issue of reproductive health in a presidential memorandum, rescinding the “Mexico City Policy,” often referred to as the global gag rule, which was expanded under former President Donald Trump and blocks U.S. funding to international non-profits that provide counseling or referrals for abortion.
Thursday’s actions will continue a series of executive moves by Biden in his first week as president, setting an ambitious tone for his administration on a number of policy areas.
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