CNN town hall with President Biden

President Biden took questions from Americans on the coronavirus pandemic, school reopenings, vaccines, the minimum wage and White supremacy at CNN’s town hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was his first town hall since becoming President.

In case you missed it, here’s what you need to know about Biden’s town hall:

He urged Americans to get the vaccines: Biden advised Americans to get any coronavirus vaccine they can, whenever they can. New variants may eventually reduce the efficacy of vaccines against coronavirus, he said. The more the virus circulates, the more likely it is to change into vaccine-resistant forms. So, people should not wait and see, he urged.

Biden said country may be back to normal by “next Christmas”: He said he is cautious of predicting a timeline, but pointed to “next Christmas” as a moment where the nation could be under a “very different circumstance.” Biden noted that with the current vaccinations, and the upcoming Johnson & Johnson vaccination, the ability to continue to spread the disease “is going to diminish considerably” due to herd immunity.

On why he wants to increase the minimum wage: Biden defended his administration’s call to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. “The vast majority of the economists and there are studies that show by increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, it could have an impact on a number of businesses, but it would be de minimis, et cetera. Here’s the deal. It’s about doing it gradually,” Biden said.

He offered to help this mother tonight: Biden offered to personally help a mother worried about getting a coronavirus vaccine for her 19-year-old immunocompromised son with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). “If you’re willing, I’ll stay around after this is over and maybe we can talk a few minutes and see if I can get you some help,” Biden said.

Biden wants to stay away from anything related to Trump: Biden said any decision to prosecute former President Trump for anything he did while in office will be left up to the Department of Justice, and he will not interfere in a possible investigation. “Look, for four years all that’s been in the news is Trump. The next four years I want to make sure all the news is the American people,” he said. Biden added: “I’m tired of talking about Trump.”

On White supremacists: Biden said White supremacists are the greatest domestic terror threat in the US during a town hall event. “It’s complex, it’s wide ranging, and it’s real,” Biden added. “I would make sure that my Justice Department and the Civil Rights Division is focused heavily on those very folks, and I would make sure that we, in fact, focus on how to deal with the rise of White supremacy,” he said.

Biden thinks the nation is not divided: Biden said he takes issue with “everybody” stating that the US is a divided country. Biden explained that he believes most people in the country agree on issues like coronavirus aid. “The nation is not divided. You go out there and take a look and talk to people, you have fringes on both ends. But it’s not nearly as divided as we make it out to be and we have to bring it together,” Biden said.

President Biden said he has spoken to all former presidents, except for one.

Biden said he has also called former presidents, but wouldn’t say who.

Biden went on to add that he’s honored to be president, saying, “And I literally pray that I have the capacity to do for the country what you all deserve need be done.”

He reflected on the power of presidency by mentioning his experience working as vice president under former President Barack Obama.

“But one thing I learn after eight years with Barack is no matter how consequential the decision, I got to be the last person in the room with him literally on every decision. I can make a recommendation, but I walked out of the room and it was all him, man. Nobody else. Buck stops there. And that’s where you pray for making sure you’re looking at the impact on the country and a little bit of good luck at the judgment you’re making,” he said.

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President Biden defended his administration’s call to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour during tonight’s town hall.

Raising the federal hourly minimum wage to $15 would reduce poverty  — but would also cut employment by 1.4 million workers and increase the federal deficit by $54 billion over a decade, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released Monday.

Last week’s CBO report resurfaced longstanding arguments between Democrats and worker advocates on one side, who say that paying people a higher wage will have a positive impact on their lives, the federal budget and the economy, and Republicans and business owners on the other side, who warn that such a move will cost jobs. 

One recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded that 80% of economic research over the last 30 years found there are job losses associated with a higher minimum wage. The evidence of a negative impact is stronger for teens and young adults, as well as the less-educated.

But proponents argue that better-quality studies tend to show that increases in the minimum wage do not hurt employment. Supporters for raising the minimum wage also highlighted the CBO’s findings that raising the minimum wage would help many lower-income Americans, many of whom are essential workers, people of color and women.

Biden pushed back against the CBO report, telling CNN’s Anderson Cooper Tuesday, “there are an equal number of studies that say it wouldn’t have that effect. And particularly in terms of how gradually you do it,” adding, “I think there is equally as much, if not more evidence to dictate that it would grow the economy and, long run and medium run, benefit small businesses as well as large businesses, and it would not have such a dilatory effect, but that’s a debatable issue.”

Still, Biden told Randy Lange, the co-owner of a Wisconsin Woodworking Company, “it’s not illegitimate as a small business person to worry about whether or not increasing it at one fell swoop would have that impact.”

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President Joe Biden described his life in the White House this evening, saying so far it still feels surprising every day. 

“I wake up in the morning and ask Jill, ‘Where the hell are we,” he said, earning laughs from the socially distanced audience. 

“It’s a little like a gilded cage in terms of being able to walk outside and do things,” he said, drawing a contrast to living in to the vice president’s residence, which is 80 acres and includes secluded lawns, and an outdoor swimming pool. 

Biden went on to say that in seeking the presidency, it was never his ambition to live in the White House itself, but to have the power to make decisions to guide the country.

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Asked about his call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, President Biden said that the US “must speak up on human rights” and that there will “be repercussions for China” over human rights abuses.

“There will be repercussions for China and [Xi Jinping] knows that,” Biden said

“What I’m doing is, making clear that, we, in fact, are going to continue to reassert our role as spokespersons for human rights at the UN and other agencies that have an impact on their attitude,” Biden told CNN’s Anderson Cooper during tonight’s town hall.

Biden went on to describe what he told the Chinese leader with regards to human rights and the United States’ stance.

“I point out to him no American president can be sustained as a president, if he doesn’t reflect the values of the United States. And so the idea is, that I am not going to speak out against what he’s doing in Hong Kong, what he’s doing with the Uyghurs in the western mountains of China and Taiwan trying to end the one China policy by making it forceful…he gets, it culturally there are different norms that each country and that leaders are expected to follow,” Biden said.

“China is trying very hard to become the world leader. And to get that moniker and be able to do that they have to gain the confidence of other countries. And as long as they are engaged in activity that is contrary to basic human rights, it’s going to be hard for them to do that,” Biden explained

Biden ended his answer by noting that the issue and China policy in general is “much more complicated than that, I shouldn’t try to talk China policy in 10 minutes on television.”

President Biden offered to personally help a mother worried about getting a coronavirus vaccine for her 19-year-old immunocompromised son with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 

Kerri Engebrecht, the teen’s mom, told Biden that her son was diagnosed with COPD at the age of 14 and he has the lung functioning of a 60-year-old.

“He does all he can to protect himself. Last month, he even removed himself from the campus of UW Madison, as he feels it’s safer, and he has less exposure here at home. We’ve tried all we can to get him a vaccine. I hear of others who are less vulnerable, getting it based on far less,” Engebrecht said before asking if Biden had a plan to vaccinate those who are most vulnerable sooner. 

Biden explained that he can’t tell the states to prioritize certain group of people, that he can however make certain recommendations, but he would like to help her. 

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President Biden addressed racial disparities in enforcement of drug use this evening, saying he believed no one should be imprisoned for using an illegal drug.

He suggested funds used for enforcement should instead be repurposed for rehabilitation.

Biden was responding to a question from an audience member who wanted to know how police departments could be reformed while providing increased protection, particularly in minority communities. 

“How can we be sure that we don’t over legislate police officers so that they can do their job to protect the law-abiding citizens who live in these high crime neighborhoods and yet train officers to police with compassion?” asked Dannie Evans, a pastor and member of the Wisconsin Racial Disparity Task Force.

“By number one, not defunding the police,” replied Biden. 

“We should be in a position where we change the system of sentencing system,” he added.

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One of President Biden’s first acts was signing a series of executive actions that undo several Trump administration immigration policies.

The actions Biden signed early on in his presidency included preserving the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, halting border wall construction and reversing the travel ban from predominantly Muslim countries.

In the weeks after his swearing-in, the Biden administration proposed revising the number of refugees who can be admitted to the US this year to 62,500, a significant increase from the 15,000 cap put in place under Trump, and is preparing to admit migrants forced to remain in Mexico awaiting their US hearings under a controversial Trump-era policy.

The Biden administration, in concert with Hill Democrats, is also preparing to unveil legislation this week that seeks to provide a pathway to citizenship to the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. But the administration, Biden has said, has a long way to go on immigration.

The President will need the approval of Congress to pass his administration’s immigration bill, which, among other investments in border security and foreign aid to Latin America, provides a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants living in the US.

President Biden said he takes issue with “everybody” stating that the US is a divided country.

Biden explained that he believes most people in the country agree on issues like coronavirus aid.

“You cannot function in our system without consensus other than abusing power at the executive level. So, I really think there’s so many things that we agree on that we don’t focus enough on… We have to be more decent and treat people with respect and just decency,” Biden said.

Biden went on to revisit and mention some of the reasons he decided to run for President, including restoring the “soul of the country” and rebuilding the “backbone of the country.”

President Biden said any decision to prosecute former President Trump for anything he did while in office will be left up to the Department of Justice, and he will not interfere in a possible investigation.

Asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper if he would allow the Justice Department to proceed in an investigation into Trump, Biden said that decision lies with the Department of Justice. “One of the most serious pieces of damage done by the last administration was the politicizing of the Justice Department,” Biden said at a CNN Town Hall on Tuesday.

“I made a commitment, I will not ever tell my Justice Department, and it’s not mine, it’s the people’s Justice Department, who they should and should not prosecute. Their prosecutorial decisions will be left to the Justice Department, not me,” he continued.

President Biden said he does have some concerns about the online aspect of the coronavirus vaccine rollout, shining a spotlight on the digital divide in the United States. He also said some of that concern stems from time that was wasted by the previous administration.

Biden said that while he does have some concern about the online rollout of vaccines, every state now has some sort of mechanism where individuals can check to see if they’re qualified to receive a vaccine and where to get it.

In many states, elderly populations are among the first eligible for the vaccine, but with registration largely taking place online, some are forced to lean on family members and volunteers with high-speed internet and more digital know-how to register.

Biden also criticized the Trump administration in his answer, saying his administration inherited a poor vaccine distribution plan.

“We inherited a circumstance here where… a circumstance where, number one, there weren’t many vaccinators. You didn’t know where you could go get a vaccine administered to you because there was no one to put it in your arm, number one,” Biden said. “Number two, there was very little federal guidance, as to say what to look for, how to find out where, in fact, you could go.”

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President Biden said White supremacists are the greatest domestic terror threat in the US during a town hall event. “It’s complex, it’s wide ranging, and it’s real,” Biden added.

“I would make sure that my Justice Department and the Civil Rights Division is focused heavily on those very folks, and I would make sure that we, in fact, focus on how to deal with the rise of White supremacy,” he said.

Biden explained that his administration would also look into the impact of the rise of White supremacy in specific groups including, the military and former police officers.

He called people who support White supremacist ideals “demented” and “dangerous.”

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President Biden demurred this evening when asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper if he agreed with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s comment that Republican senators who voted to acquit former President Trump were “cowards.”

“I’m tired of talking about Trump,” he added, receiving a round of applause from the social distanced audience. 

President Biden’s agenda to tackle the pandemic has taken center stage during tonight’s town hall.

The top item on Biden’s to-do list: getting a massive $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package through Congress and getting coronavirus vaccines into the arms of Americans.

With Democrats controlling both houses of Congress, Biden’s party has the upper hand for passing federal relief into law. Earlier in the negotiations process, Biden — who kicked off his presidency with calls for unity amid a time of division — indicated that he’d be willing to make some concessions to earn the support of some Republicans.

But now a process is underway that will allow Democrats to pass the relief through the Senate with only 51 votes.

The Biden administration has also pressed forward with deploying a national coronavirus vaccine rollout strategy. The President and members of his administration have repeatedly claimed that their predecessors in the Trump administration had no plan.

The goal, the President and administration officials now say, is having enough doses to vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of July.

Another priority related to the pandemic: reopening schools. But so far, Biden’s plan to open schools safely amid the pandemic has been met by a messy reality, with pushback from teachers unions and conflicting messages between public health officials and the administration.

Asked when he thinks the country will get back to normal, President Biden said he is cautious of predicting a timeline, but pointed to “next Christmas” as a moment where the nation could be under a “very different circumstance.”

Biden noted that with the current vaccinations, and the upcoming Johnson & Johnson vaccination, the ability to continue to spread the disease “is going to diminish considerably” due to herd immunity.

“A year from now, I think that there will be significantly fewer people having to be socially distanced, have to wear a mask, but we don’t know,” Biden said.

Once again, Biden cautioned that he did not want to “over promise anything here.”

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President Biden addressed how his administration plans on combatting the racial disparities in Covid-19 vaccine distribution.

“The biggest part of this is physical access,” Biden said during tonight’s town hall.

Biden outlined three specific ways his administration aims to help reach a larger population in areas that are tough to get vaccines:

Biden also mentioned creating mass vaccination centers at stadiums.

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President Joe Biden addressed a second grader who asked him, through her mother, when she might be able to get the vaccine. 

Biden started off by pointing out that the vaccine had not yet been cleared for children. 

“We haven’t even done tests yet on children as to whether or not the certain vaccines would work or not work or what is needed,” he said.

He went on to reassure her, “you’re the safest group of people in the whole world”

“I wouldn’t worry about it, baby. I promise you,” he said. “But I know it’s kind of worrisome.”

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President Biden advised Americans to get any coronavirus vaccine they can, whenever they can.

New variants may eventually reduce the efficacy of vaccines against coronavirus, Biden told CNN’s Anderson Cooper at a CNN Presidential Town Hall in Milwaukee Tuesday. The more the virus circulates, the more likely it is to change into vaccine-resistant forms. So, people should not wait and see, he urged.

“It may be that a certain vaccination for a certain strain may reduce from 95% to a lower percentage of certainty that it will keep you from getting it,” Biden added. “But it will still be effective. So the clear notion is, if you’re eligible, if it’s available, get the vaccine. Get the vaccine,” he continued.

Bigger stimulus checks. More aid for the unemployed, the hungry and those facing eviction. Additional support for small businesses, states and local governments. Increased funding for vaccinations and testing. These are key parts of a $1.9 trillion proposal that President Biden is aiming for Congress to pass.

Billed as the American Rescue Plan, the package augments many of the measures in Congress’ historic $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill from March and in the $900 billion legislation from December, which was scaled back to garner support from Senate Republicans.

Here’s a look at some key things in the American Rescue Plan:

Read more about Biden’s proposal here and the House Democrats’ stimulus relief plan here.

President Biden said teachers should move ahead in the line to receive shots in order to reopen schools, attempting to clarify an administration stance that he acknowledged had become muddled over the last week.

Speaking at a CNN town hall from Milwaukee during his first trip outside Washington since taking office, Biden said he wanted kindergarten through eighth grade schools open five days a week, and suggested some schools should remain open over the summer to make up for lost time.

Biden touted a ramping-up of a vaccination program he claimed was woefully inadequate when he entered the White House.

“There was nothing in the refrigerator, literally and figuratively,” Biden said.

Pressed on how he would return students to classrooms, Biden said he would emphasize getting vaccines to teachers.

“I think we should be vaccinating teachers. We should move them up in the hierarchy,” he said.

What we know: At least 28 states plus Washington, DC, have started allowing all or some teachers and school staff to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

Though some states have announced they are prioritizing teachers, vaccine availability remains a concern across the country.

There are 22 states where teachers are still not eligible to receive the vaccine as a specific group — although some educators might fall into the current age group that state is vaccinating.

President Biden.

President Biden affirmed that Covid-19 vaccines will be widely available to the general public by the end of July during the first town hall of his presidency.

“By the end of July we’ll have over 600 million doses, enough to vaccinate every single American,” Biden told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

Biden noted that there were only 50 million doses available when he assumed office. Biden said that he implemented the Defense Production Act to “get the manufacturing piece of it to get more equipment.”

He explained that one of the major obstacles for actually injecting the vaccine into people was the lack vaccinators. Biden said he issued an executive order to increase the number of vaccinators.

“Now we have made significant strides increasing the number of vaccinators. I issued an executive order allowing former retired docs and nurses to do it. We have over a thousand military personnel … We have gotten the National Guard engaged … Plus we have opened up a considerable amount of locations where you can get the vaccine,” he said.

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President Joe Biden tonight clarified confusion on what would qualify as a school reopening, saying that reports that a school could be considered open if it was open just one day per week stemmed from a “mistake in the communication.”

Biden was responding to a question from CNN’s Anderson Cooper who asked, “your administration had set a goal to open the majority of schools in your first 100 days. You’re now saying that means those schools may only be open for at least one day a week.” 

Biden then interjected saying there had been an error in how the standard was communicated.

“No, that’s not true,” he said. “That’s what was reported. That’s not true. That was a mistake in the communication, but what I’m talking about is I said opening the majority of schools in K through 8th grade because they’re the easiest to open, the most needed to be open in terms of the impact on children and families having to stay home. “

Biden’s incoming administration pledged last year to reopen “the majority of our schools” in the first 100 days, but later White House press secretary Jen Psaki qualified that one day a week would count as a reopening. 

“His goal that he set is to have the majority of schools — so, more than 50% — open by day 100 of his presidency,” she said. “And that means some teaching in classrooms. So, at least one day a week. Hopefully, it’s more.”

As of Monday, a total of 28 states plus Washington, DC, had started allowing all or some teachers and school staff to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

Though some states have announced they are prioritizing teachers, vaccine availability remains a concern across the country.

There are 22 states where teachers are still not eligible to receive the vaccine as a specific group — although some educators might fall into the current age group that state is vaccinating.

Some more context: The director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday emphasized the need for masking and other mitigation measures in order to reopen schools safely, saying “we have work to do” as teachers, students and parents continue to struggle with Covid-19’s impact on education.

The CDC on Friday released its long-awaited guidelines for reopening schools that focus on five key Covid-19 mitigation strategies: the universal and correct wearing of masks; physical distancing; washing hands; cleaning facilities and improving ventilation; and contact tracing, isolation and quarantine. Vaccines and testing are not among the “key” strategies the agency lays out, calling them “additional layers” of Covid-19 prevention.

About 89% of children in the US live in a county considered a red zone with high levels of Covid-19 transmission under those new school opening guidelines shared by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday, according to a CNN analysis of federal data.

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President Biden is being asked about his administration’s vaccine plans and timeline for distribution.

Last Thursday, Biden announced that the United States will have enough coronavirus vaccines for 300 million Americans by the end of July, underscoring that he believes his administration has made significant progress given that there wasn’t a rollout plan in place under the Trump administration.

Biden used the NIH appearance to announce that the timeline for the previously announced vaccine purchases had been moved up.

Moderna and Pfizer will deliver a total of 200 million coronavirus vaccine doses by the end of July, rather than the end of the summer, he said. The companies will also deliver 100 million expected doses by the end of May, rather than the end of June.

The President, echoing claims made by other administration officials since the start of his tenure in office, asserted that the Trump administration “did not have a plan” for vaccine distribution.

In the waning days of the Trump administration, officials announced they would be releasing reserved coronavirus vaccine doses that they had saved for second doses of the vaccine. However, shortly after the announcement, it became clear many of those reserves had already been released last year as production was ramping up.

Thursday’s announcement pushes up the Biden administration’s previous timeline for vaccinating the US population. Late last month, Biden had said the US was on track to have enough vaccine supply to fully vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of summer or early fall.

The President also said on Thursday that the country was on track to beat its goal of administering 100 million vaccine doses into the arms of Americans in his first 100 days of office.

President Biden was just asked about school reopenings during the pandemic, one of his administration’s key priorities to speed up recovery.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released guidelines for reopening schools that focus on five key Covid-19 mitigation strategies:

Vaccines and testing are not among the “key” strategies the agency lays out, calling them “additional layers” of Covid-19 prevention.

But the new recommendations come amid a national debate about when and how to reopen schools, even as fear of spreading coronavirus continues and a push to prioritize teachers for vaccinations grows.

“I want to be clear, with this operational strategy, CDC is not mandating that schools reopen. These recommendations simply provide schools a long-needed roadmap for how to do so safely under different levels of disease in the community,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a news briefing on Friday.

“We also know that some schools are already providing in-person instruction and we want them to be able to continue to do this, but we know that some are not following the recommended mitigation strategies we know to work,” Walensky said.

“For these schools, we are not mandating that they close; rather, we are providing these recommendations and highlighting the science behind them to help schools create an environment that is safe for schools, students, teachers and staff,” she continued.

The coronavirus pandemic is one of the biggest challenges of the Biden administration as the nation aims to quickly vaccinate the population.

While new cases across the country have decreased, experts worry that if Americans let their guards down — especially now with variants circulating — there could be another surge coming.

Here’s a look at the latest coronavirus figures and trends in the US:

CNN’s live town hall with President Biden has begun. During tonight’s event, Biden is expected to bring the case for his massive coronavirus relief plan to the country.

Biden’s first work trip outside Washington since taking office signals his intent on making a public sales pitch for his agenda after spending nearly a month in the shadow of the impeachment proceedings, which ended in acquittal on Saturday.

Aides say the President, known for his outgoing style with voters, has been eager to escape the White House. White House aides insist his $1.9 trillion proposal is popular with a wide swath of Americans, including Republicans, even though Biden has not secured support from any GOP senators for the plan.

By taking his pitch on the road, and fielding questions from Americans, they hope to highlight the relief the plan would bring nearly a year into the pandemic.

President Biden will answer questions soon at a CNN town hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The event marks Biden’s first official trip since being sworn in as the 46th President of the United States.

The President is expected to field questions on a number of issues as his administration, lawmakers and business leaders debate how to defeat the coronavirus, while trying to bring a sense of normalcy back to people’s lives.

Here’s what you need to know about Biden’s town hall:

President Biden has signed a flurry of executive orders, actions and memorandums aimed at rapidly addressing the coronavirus pandemic and dismantling many of former President Trump’s policies.

The executive actions Biden took in the first days of his administration included halting funding for the construction of Trump’s border wall, reversing Trump’s travel ban targeting largely Muslim countries, imposing a mask mandate on federal property, ramping up vaccination supplies and requiring international travelers to provide proof of negative Covid-19 tests prior to traveling to the US.

So far, Biden has signed more than 50 executive actions, 19 of which are direct reversals of Trump’s policies. Most of these actions have addressed the novel coronavirus, immigration and equity.

Biden defends the number of executive actions he has issued as necessary to undo what he considers “bad policy” inherited from Trump, especially on immigration.

To date, eight of his 10 actions regarding immigration are reversals of Trump’s policies.

Read about each of Biden’s executive actions below:

From CNN’s Christopher Hickey, Curt Merrill, Richard J. Chang, Kate Sullivan, Janie Boschma and Sean O’Key

The live CNN town hall with President Biden starts at 9 p.m. ET, and the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is already being set up for the event.

There will be an invitation-only, socially distanced audience at the town hall and CNN will follow Wisconsin’s guidance and regulations to ensure a safe event, a CNN spokesperson said. The event will be moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

Here’s a look inside the theater:

A crew member wipes down the floor before CNN's town hall with President Joe Biden at the Pabst Theater.

Masked audience members speak to each other at the Pabst Theater.

CNN's Anderson Cooper works with show producers before the town hall with President Joe Biden.

A cameraman sets up his shot before the town hall.

The focus of President Biden’s trip to Milwaukee tonight will be to make sure he is “engaging directly with the people who are impacted by the pandemic,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

Tonight’s CNN town hall will be moderated by Anderson Cooper. It is Biden’s first town hall since taking office.

Psaki refuted a question from reporters that Biden taking his message directly to the American people outside Washington is an admission that he won’t be getting the support of Republicans in DC for his emergency Covid-19 relief bill.

“He certainly wouldn’t agree with that,” Psaki said. “The President has not shifted gears, he has been focused every single day, even as others have not — which is understandable — on engaging with partners, stakeholders, people who agree with him, people who don’t agree with him, on getting this package through.”

Psaki said this is an opportunity to speak to people in Wisconsin who both agree and don’t with the President, but again recited their own belief that the plan remains popular across the country.

“[That] should be noted by members of Congress as they consider whether they’re going to vote for it or not.”

Asked if these trips are meant to build pressure on members of Congress, Psaki said no, but again flipped the choice on the GOP citing the popularity numbers of the proposal.

As he headed to Wisconsin today, President Biden took his pitch about the urgency of his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package outside of Washington for the first time, and he’s using the CNN town hall as an opportunity to drum up public support for the legislation worming its way through Congress.

But a senior White House official says Biden sees the town hall as an opportunity to not only pitch his relief package, but also to have a conversation with everyday Americans and hear about the challenges they are facing during these twin health and economic crises.

The famously gregarious politician has been itching to get out of Washington and interact with the public, interactions that have been limited amid the ongoing pandemic. And a senior official said today’s trip will likely be the first of several as Biden continues to drum up support for the relief package.

“I think that’s what he’s most excited about doing this week,” the official said. “This is something that he wants to do and something that he’s excited about doing.”

Unemployment benefits will begin to lapse for millions of American in less than a month, putting the pressure squarely on Congress — and Democratic leaders — to usher through a $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill.

The next four weeks will test Democratic unity and require the party’s progressives and moderates to put aside clear philosophical differences over the scope of what is needed for the recovery right now. It will also cement a reality for President Biden: his first major push in Congress isn’t going to be a bipartisan one. Instead, a process is fully underway that will allow Democrats to pass this bill through the Senate with just 51 votes.

Bottom line: Congress is out this week, but the quiet work of pulling together the Democrats’ opening offer at Covid relief continues this week with the House on track to pass their portion of the $1.9 trillion proposal as soon as next week.

In the next few days, the House Budget Committee will put together the final bill based off of the section by sections that committees passed last week. This will ensure Democrats are in a place to be able to get the caucus on board and pass the bill as soon as next week.

The immediate obstacles: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a five-vote margin on this bill. This isn’t spring 2020, when the economy was cratering and the uncertainty of the virus was so paralyzing for the country that lawmakers came together in a matter of weeks to pass the largest stimulus bill in history with unity.

The scrutiny on this package — even by some Democrats — is more intense. That doesn’t mean that a few Republicans won’t cross the aisle and vote for it, giving Pelosi perhaps more room to move the legislation on the floor, but watch members comments over the next several days while they are home on recess to get a clue for how much a lift this is going to be for the House speaker.

The Senate problem: In the last several weeks, House Democrats haven’t been working in a vacuum as they transformed Biden’s proposal into legislative text. Senate Democratic aides from the Finance Committee have been consulting with House Ways and Means panel. The Senate’s HELP Committee has been working closely with the House Education and Labor panel. Aides have been in close contact and Democratic senators have made it clear — both through private nudging and public comments — what they need in the House bill to make it workable on their side.

Still, House and Senate Democrats aren’t in complete unity right now. The expectation is that changes to the House bill will happen in the Senate, but not in a formal committee mark up like last week in the House. Instead, the current plan for Democrats is to bring their bill — with some potential changes that have been ironed out privately — directly to the Senate floor. That could happen as the week of March 2. But, Democrats in the Senate will have two weeks to pass their bill before unemployment benefits lapse. And, if they pass a different bill than the House, the House will have to pass it again before March 14.

Read more about the House Democrats’ relief plan here.

Less than one month after taking office, President Joe Biden will participate in a CNN town hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, answering questions from Americans as the nation struggles to contain the coronavirus pandemic and jumpstart a troubled economy.

The “CNN Presidential Town Hall with Joe Biden” will air live from the Pabst Theater at 9 p.m. ET.

The event will mark Biden’s first official trip since being sworn in as the 46th President of the United States.

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper will moderate the town hall. A CNN spokesperson said an invitation-only, socially distanced audience will be present and will follow Wisconsin’s guidance and regulations to ensure a safe event.

The President is expected to field questions on a number of issues as his administration, lawmakers and business leaders debate how to defeat the coronavirus, while trying to bring a sense of normalcy back to people’s lives.