Biden news live: Latest updates today as Covid relief bill holds up in Senate

Jacob Chansley, the self-proclaimed “Q Shaman” has said he was greatly disappointed when former President Donald Trump declined his request for a pardon over his role in the 6 January Capitol riot.

In an interview that ran on CBS This Morning on Thursday, Mr Chansley said he regretted entering the Capitol “with every fibre of my being”.

He said that while he did not regret his loyalty towards the former president, he did feel “wounded” over not receiving a pardon.

Joe Biden called off plans for an airstrike on a second target in Syria after intelligence reported that a woman and children were present at the site, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

The US president had ordered the Pentagon to push forward with the strikes on the two Iranian-backed militia targets on 26 February.

However, after receiving a sudden warning just 30 minutes before the airstrike was set to be carried out, he put a halt to the plan.

Oliver O’Connell has more:

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has vowed to promote US business ties based on “mutual respect” after President Joe Biden’s administration identified a “growing rivalry” with the country as a key challenge for America.

Delivering an annual work report at parliamentary meeting, Li said: “We will promote the growth of mutually beneficial China-US business relations on the basis of equality and mutual respect,” according to Reuters.

The comments came amid growing concerns from the US on market access barriers American companies face in China.

It also came as a White House document laying out Biden’s national security policies was made public, describing China as “the only competitor potentially capable of combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to mount a sustained challenge to a stable and open international system”.

The report also said China has “rapidly become more assertive”.

Alabama Gov Kay Ivey has extended her state’s mask order despite facing pressure to end the mandatory measure aimed at helping prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Noting the political pressure from fellow Republicans and outrage from residents she has faced, Ms Ivey said: “Maybe they don’t have access to the same information I have.”

“We want to be abundantly clear and abundantly safe before we drop the mask mandate,” the governor said, according to The Associated Press.

Ms Ivey first issued the state’s mandatory mask order in July and announced on Thursday that she would be extending it until 9 April. “We need to get past Easter and hopefully allow more Alabamians to get their first shot before we take a step some other states have taken to remove the mask order altogether and lift other restrictions,” she said. “Folks, we are not there yet, but goodness knows we’re getting closer.”

A former Trump appointee was reportedly arrested by the FBI on Thursday in connection with the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol Building.

The FBI arrested and took Federico Klein, a former State Department aide, into custody in Virginia, according to Politico.

It is unclear what the exact charges against Mr Klein are.

However, the incident marks the first known arrest of a Trump appointee facing criminal prosecution over the deadly riot, which left five people dead.

Mr Klein’s mother told Politico in a telephone interview that she had talked about the 6 January events with her son. She confirmed he had been in Washington, DC, that day.

She also told the outlet that she had been left with the impression that her son did not enter the Capitol, but said she could not recall whether he had outrightly denied it.

“As far as I know, he was on the Mall. That’s what he told me,” she said.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger have thrown their support behind GOP efforts to usher in new measures to tighten voting laws, even though the bid appears to have been sparked by the same voter fraud claims they spoke out against.

As The Associated Press noted in a report on Friday, both Mr Kemp and Mr Raffensperger were praised last fall for speaking out against then-President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims of voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 election.

However, now they have said they are in support of Georgia Republicans’ bid to introduce a rule enforcing ID requirements for absentee voting, which would do away with a signature matching system Mr Trump railed against.

On Tuesday, the Georgia state Senate passed the legislation, which would require voters to submit a driver’s license number, state ID card number or a copy of another approved form of identification to be eligible to vote absentee.

Democrats and voting rights advocates have criticised the bill, asserting that it will impose hurdles for voters who do not have that identification on hand.

The Biden administration has ramped up calls for Myanmar’s military to end its brutal crackdown on protesters amid the country’s coup.

Branding the situation “troubling” and of “great concern” on Thursday, the White House condemned the military’s actions and called for the release of detained protesters and journalists.

“The detainment of journalists, the targeting of journalists and dissidents is certainly something that is of great concern to the president, to the secretary of state and to every member of our administration,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

Yet, on Friday, morning Reuters reported that police in the city ofMandalay opened fire on protesters rallying against the military’s coup, with the incident said to have left at least one person dead.

The press agency reported that a large crowd had marched peacefully through the city’s streets earlier that day, calling out that “the stone age is over” and “we’re not scared because you threaten us”.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer appeared to mockingly credit GOP Senator Ron Johnson with helping make sure Americans hear “just how popular” President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 relief bill is by forcing an hours-long full reading of the legislation.

Mr Schumer thanked Senate Clerks in a tweet for reading the 628-page bill out after Mr Johnson objected to skipping the reading of the bill, which would have allowed debate on the relief plan to move forward.

“To the Senate Clerks: Thank you for reading the American Rescue Plan all day today,” the Senate majority leader said.

“ Republican Senator Ron Johnson wanted to make sure Americans heard again just how popular and just how bold the American Rescue Plan is from the floor of the United States Senate,” he said.

The acting chief of the US Capitol Police has reportedly urged congressional leaders to act to ensure that National Guard troops stay put at the Capitol Building nearly two months after the deadly insurrection that unfolded on 6 January.

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, Yogananda Pittman said the board overseeing her department had declined to renew an emergency declaration to keep Guardsmen stationed at the Capitol.

She implored leaders to convince the three-member Capitol Police Board to extend the measure.

Her plea came amid concerns over the possibility of another attack on the Capitol after after intelligence suggested a militia group could take action on 4 March, the day some QAnon conspiracy theorists believed former President Donald Trump would return to power.

While the day has come and on, it is likely the Capitol police head’s request will remain intact in a push to ensure the safety of the Capitol following January’s events.

Republican Sen Ron Johnson has said he believes it was necessary to demand a full reading of the 628-page Covid-19 relief bill to ensure that lawmakers “know what’s in the bill”.

“I just objected to skipping past the reading of the Democrats’ 628-page bill that was just introduced minutes ago,” Mr Johnson said in a tweet.

Noting the $1.9 trillion price tag that will come with the measures included in the bill, the GOP senator said: “If they’re going to add nearly $2T to the national debt at least we should know what’s in the bill.”

The senator later weighed in on the reading as it unfolded, asserting that “it’s amazing how many times you hear the year 2022, 2023 and beyond. I thought all this COVID relief spending was needed *now*.”

“$1.9 trillion in additional debt is $5,800 per person,” he added in another tweet. “Added to the $4 trillion of earlier relief bills, its a debt burden of $18,000 per person.  This relief isn’t free.”