Official White House Photo by Lawrence JacksonBy MICHELLE STODDART, ABC News

(WASHINGTON) — Monday is Day 41 of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Here is how the day is unfolding. All time Eastern:

Mar 01, 11:39 am
Lawmakers, advocacy groups urge Senate to pass $15 per hour minimum wage

Some of the lawmakers who signed onto a letter to Biden and Harris, asking them to overrule the Senate parliamentarian, urged the Senate to move forward with the $15 dollar minimum wage in a press call Monday morning.

“The idea that the impact on the budget of raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour is incidental is ridiculous, its not factually accurate, we should thank the parliamentarian for her advice, respect her completely, and make our own correct decisions to move forward with this,” Rep. Mike Levine, D-Calif., said on the call.

The lawmakers highlighted the Senate’s ability to disregard the decision, citing instances where it has occurred before and highlighting the increased urgency to raise the wage during the COVID-19 crisis.

“It’s so important for the American people for us to not be gaslighted to believe that this is it, that we have no power,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., said. “We’re going to get tremendous support who don’t see how it’s done but see that it gets done.”

Multiple organizations who are advocating for the $15 minimum wage were also on the call this morning backing the progressive effort. Advocates and lawmakers both said it was imperative to raise the minimum wage to address racial disparities.

“This isn’t just an economic need it is a racial justice imperative,” Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said. “Many people of color have been paid poverty pages for too long. One should not have to work to stay poor and that’s what’s happening.”

Mar 01, 11:38 am
Biden throws weight behind union efforts in Alabama

Biden released a video on Twitter Sunday night throwing his full support behind efforts for unions to organize, mentioning an effort by employees in Alabama, but not specifically mentioning Amazon, which is currently trying to campaign against workers’ efforts there.

“You should all remember, the National Labor Relations Act didn’t just say that unions are allowed to exist. It said that we should encourage unions. So let me be really clear: It’s not up to me to decide whether anyone should join a union. But let me be even more clear: It’s not up to an employer to decide that either. The choice to join a union is up to the workers,” Biden said. “Full stop.”

Biden goes on to say “no supervisor should confront employees about their union preferences” and that every worker should have a “free and fair choice to join a union.”

“It’s your right. Not that of an employer. It’s your right,” Biden said. “No employer can take that right away.”

His video message is being met with praise from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who tweeted this morning thanking the president for his message.

“If Amazon workers in Alabama — a strong anti-union state — vote to form a union, it’ll be a shot heard around the world. If they can negotiate higher wages & better working conditions in the South, it’ll benefit every worker in America,” Sanders said in the tweet.

Mar 01, 10:04 am
Progressive Democrats urge Biden and Harris to try to keep $15 minimum wage

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and 22 other House progressives have sent a letter to Biden and Harris urging them to overrule the Senate parliamentarian and keep the $15 minimum wage in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.

“We must act now to prevent tens of millions of hardworking Americans from being underpaid any longer,” the letter said. “You have the authority to deliver a raise for millions of Americans.”

Biden and his chief of staff Ron Klain have said they don’t want to overrule the top procedural official in the chamber. More important, they don’t have the votes to do so given that Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have said they oppose eliminating the legislative filibuster and Manchin also opposes the $15 minimum wage measure pushed by the House.

Mar 01, 9:21 am
Sanders drops effort to penalize corporations that don’t pay $15 per hour

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., are dropping a planned amendment to penalize corporations that don’t pay at least $15 per hour in an effort to raise the minimum wage for as many people as possible after the Senate parliamentarian ruled a straight wage increase out of bounds under reconciliation, two Democratic sources confirmed to ABC News.

One source close to Sanders said that he is determined to pass a wage increase and is “looking at all available strategies” to get it done. One of the sources told ABC that the progressives’ “plan B is on hold.”

“We worked through the weekend, and it became clear that finalizing ‘Plan B’ with the caucus would delay passage and risk going over the jobless benefits cliff,” the source said.

There were many questions about how the Wyden-Sanders amendment would work — some of the questions coming from Democrats. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., expressed concern Sunday that corporations might move jobs overseas in reaction to the penalty. Some economists questioned how the amendment would work with corporations that have franchises.

The $15 minimum wage increase has been a foundational issue for progressives in the new Congress.

Mar 01, 9:20 am
Biden to discuss immigration crisis with Mexican president

Biden travels from Wilmington, Delaware, where he spent the night, to the White House Monday morning. In the afternoon, the president meets virtually with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Biden will broach a variety of topics in his discussion with López Obrador including managing increasing migration flows, combating cross-border narcotics trafficking and addressing the ongoing health crisis, according to a senior administration official. This will be a follow up to the conversation between the two leaders on Jan. 22.

Included in the discussion of migration flow will likely be the reluctance in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas to accept families with young children. An administration official confirmed to ABC News that Mexican officials had rejected families with children under the age of 6, and as a result, they were then released into the interior of the U.S. The official described it as “creating a challenge” for the U.S. in managing migration flows.

The senior official underscored that the Trump-era protocols used to expel nearly everyone attempting to cross the border, known as Title 42, are temporary measures employed while immigration authorities work to build capacity for migrant processing in the U.S.

Broadly, the two leaders are expected to discuss avenues for continued cooperation and partnership on security, trade and migration.

The White House COVID-19 response team holds a briefing at 11 a.m. and White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a briefing at 12 p.m.

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