This report provides a snapshot of the US Executive Branch priorities via daily schedules and the prior day’s press releases.
POTUS’ Schedule*
11:30 a.m. EST – The President and The Vice President receive the President’s Daily Brief | Oval Office
12:30 p.m. EST – The President has lunch with The Vice President | Private Dining Room
3:30 p.m. EST – The President and The Vice President meet with labor leaders to discuss the American Rescue Plan and to get input on the President’s infrastructure plan | Oval Office
VPOTUS’ Schedule*
11:30 a.m. EST – the Vice President will receive the President’s Daily Brief in the Oval Office.
12:30 p.m. EST – the Vice President will have lunch with the President in the Private Dining Room.
3:30 p.m. EST – the President and the Vice President will meet with labor leaders to discuss the American Rescue Plan and receive input on the President’s infrastructure plan in the Oval Office.
White House Press Briefing Schedule*
11:00 a.m. EST – Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and public health officials | The White House
12:30 p.m. EST – Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology Anne Neuberger | James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
*The US President (POTUS) and Vice President’s (VPOTUS) daily schedules are subject to change, as is the White House press briefing schedule.
Recap of Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Note: Bold hyperlinks spotlight COVID-19 and reopening developments.
The White House
- Remarks by President Biden in a CNN Town Hall with Anderson Cooper
- Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Call with Geoffrey van Leeuwen, Foreign Affairs and Defense Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Statement by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Cases of Ebola (Central and West Africa)
- Joint Statement by Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall on the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP) Program and Border Security
- Transcript: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, February 16, 2021
Department of Defense (DOD)
- Readout of Secretary of Defense Austin’s Call With Iraqi Minister of Interior Othman Al-Ghanimi
- Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III’s Call With Iraqi Defense Minister Jumaah Saadoon
- Press Release: New DOD Officials Sworn In
- Transcript: NATO Defense Ministerial Background Briefing
- Article: Austin Will Bring New Tone to NATO Defense Ministerial
- Transcript: FEMA Acting Administrator Robert J. Fenton Jr. and Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, Commander, U.S. Northern Command, Brief the Media on DOD’s Support to COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution
- Article: Northcom, FEMA Leaders Brief Reporters on COVID-19 Efforts
- Article: Officials Testify to Congress on Military Housing Privatization Progress
- Contracts for February 16, 2021
Department of State
- Daily Schedule | Wednesday, February 17
- February 16: Interview | Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Mary Louise Kelly of NPR’s All Things Considered
- February 16: Readout | Secretary Blinken’s Call with Iraqi Prime Minister al-Kadhimi
- February 16: Statement | Breaking Barriers: The NHL’s Willie O’Ree, Documentary Film & Global Discussion on Racial Equality
- February 16: Statement | Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute Release of Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981–1988, Volume IV, Soviet Union, January 1983–March 1985
- February 16: Readout | Secretary Blinken’s Call with Portuguese Foreign Minister Santos Silva
- February 16: Readout | Secretary Blinken’s Call with Spanish Foreign Minister González Laya
- February 16: Readout | Secretary Blinken’s Call with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marsudi
- February 16: Statement | The Houthis Must Cease the Assault on Marib
- February 16: Statement | Lithuanian National Day
- February 16: Transcript | Department Press Briefing – February 16, 2021
US Mission to the United Nations (UN)
- Remarks at a UN Security Council Briefing on the Situation in Iraq (via VTC)
Department of the Treasury
- Readout: Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen’s Call with European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde
- Readout: Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen’s Call with European Commission Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis
- Press Release: United States Announces Leading Pledge to the International Fund for Agricultural Development’s Twelfth Replenishment of Resources
- Press Release: Treasury International Capital Data for December
Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Press Release: SEC Charges Ratings Agency with Disclosure and Internal Controls Failures Relating to Undisclosed Model Adjustments
Department of Justice
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) | Daily Press Releases
- Press Release: Owner of Sport Supplement Company Sentenced for Unlawful Distribution of Steroid-Like Drugs
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/ Customs and Border Protection (CBP)/U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)
- Press Release: CBP Expands Facial Biometrics to Preclearance Locations in Canada (Washington, D.C.)
- Press Release: USBP Arrests 2 Felons over Holiday Weekend (California)
- Press Release: Border Patrol Arrest Sex Offender in Calexico (California)
- Press Release: Border Patrol Agents Seize Over a Quarter of a Million Dollars in Deadly Illegal Narcotics over Valentine’s Day Weekend (California)
- Press Release: Border Patrol Agents Seize Abandoned Meth in Calexico (California)
- Press Release: USBP Seizes Cocaine on I-5 (California)
- Press Release: Agents Arrest Group, Seize 148 pounds of Meth in Remote Desert (Arizona)
- Press Release: Canine Detects 3 Illegal Aliens Hiding in Trunk at Immigration Checkpoint (Arizona)
- Press Release: Agents Rescue 2 Illegal Aliens from Salinity Canal (Arizona)
- Press Release: CBP Officers Seize $14.3 Million of Hard Drugs, Weapons, Ammunition and Arrest a Man Wanted for Murder (Arizona)
- Press Release: CBP Officers at Hidalgo International Bridge Detect $365K in Methamphetamine (Texas)
- Press Release: Border Patrol Agents Apprehend Several Train Jumpers (Texas)
- Press Release: Brownsville CBP Officers Seize $357K in Narcotics in Three Seizures (Texas)
- Press Release: Baltimore CBP Revokes Second Trusted Traveler’s Status in One Month for Zero Tolerance Penalty (Maryland)
- Press Release: USCIS Reaches Fiscal Year 2021 H-1B Cap
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- Press Release: FEMA Deploys Response Team to Virginia to Support COVID-19 Vaccinations
- Press Release: FEMA and Delaware Officials Opening COVID-19 Vaccination Center in Dover
- Press Release: FEMA Supports Vaccine Distribution Amid Winter Weather Response (California)
- Press Release: Brown County Residents Invited to Attend Virtual Coastal Flood Map Open House (Wisconsin)
- Press Release: Two Weeks Remain to Apply for FEMA Assistance in Mississippi
Department of Commerce
- Blog: Spotlight on Commerce | Sherri Curtis-Lattisaw, Administrative Specialist, SelectUSA, International Trade Administration
- Blog: Spotlight on Commerce | Samantha Maragh, Ph.D., Leader of the Genome Editing Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
US International Trade Commission (USITC)
- Press Release: USITC Makes Determinations in Five-Year (Sunset) Reviews Concerning Preserved Mushrooms from Chile, China, India, and Indonesia
- Press Release: USITC Institutes Section 337 Investigation of Certain Cellular Communications Infrastructure Systems, Components Thereof, and Products Containing Same
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- Press Release: Biden Administration Announces Another Foreclosure Moratorium and Mortgage Forbearance Deadline Extension That Will Bring Relief to Rural Residents
- Press Release: US Department of Agriculture Announces Monica Rainge as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
Department of Labor
- Press Release: Federal subcontractor pays $68,711 to workers after investigation by US Department of Labor finds prevailing wage violations in Oregon
- Press Release: US Department of Labor recovers $51K in back wages for 56 workers after investigation finds SoCal supermarket violated federal overtime requirements
- Press Release: US Labor Department investigation recovers $66K in back wages for 12 workers of Central New Jersey landscaping contractor
- Press Release: US Department of Labor seeks Guam’s building, heavy, highway and residential construction industries input for wage survey
Health & Human Services (HHS)
- Press Release: US Department of Health and Human Services Announces Biden-Harris Administration Staff Appointments
Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
- Press Release: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update | February 16, 2021
US Government (USG) COVID-19 Webpages
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 webpage
- Department of Defense COVID-19 webpage
- Department of State COVID-19 Travel Advisory webpage
- Office of Personnel Management COVID-19 webpage
- Food and Drug Administration COVID-19 webpage
- Department of Homeland Security Employee COVID-19 webpage
- Department of Labor COVID-19 webpage
- USAGov COVID-19 webpage
Non-USG COVID Webpages
Johns Hopkins University & Medicine
- Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker (tracks vaccine distribution in the United States)
- Coronavirus Resource Center