Official White House Photo by Lawrence JacksonBy MICHELLE STODDART, ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — Wednesday is Day 43 of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Here is how the day is unfolding. All time Eastern:
Mar 03, 9:26 am
First lady wades into school reopening debate
Jill Biden, the nation’s highest-ranking teacher, is wading into the debate over reopening schools, with a visit Wednesday to Connecticut and Pennsylvania alongside the newly confirmed Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. Upping her role in this contentious fight is a significant move for Jill Biden, and one that could put her in the political crosshairs, as the Biden administration tries to balance the interests of teachers’ unions and pandemic-weary parents who are desperate to get their kids back in school.
The first lady will need to walk a fine line. Wednesday’s visits are being billed more as a listening session. Biden and the education secretary will be stopping by two schools that have managed to reopen with the hopes of “having a conversation… about what has been effective, what has worked, what are the lessons learned, what do they need more assistance with?” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
But Biden, who herself is teaching virtually at Northern Virginia Community College this semester, will nonetheless get a reality check on the difficulties facing schools as the Biden administration struggles to achieve its goal to reopen the majority of schools in his first 100 days.
Mar 03, 9:09 am
Biden to hold meeting on cancer, meet with House Dems
After meeting with Senate Democrats two days in a row, Biden speaks, virtually, to the House Democratic Caucus at their annual retreat. Before that, Biden and Harris will hold a 1:45 p.m. bipartisan meeting on cancer in the Oval Office. Details on that are still unclear but Biden has long advocated a cancer “moonshot.”
Separately, Harris will spend part of the day visiting a woman-owned small business in Alexandria, Virginia, to discuss the impact of the pandemic and promote the American Rescue Plan. The vice president will also ceremonially swear in Gina Raimondo as Secretary of Commerce in the evening.
The White House Covid-19 response team will hold a press briefing at 11 a.m. and White House press secretary Jen Psaki will hold a briefing at 12:30 p.m.
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