Doug Mills-Pool/Getty ImagesBy LIBBY CATHEY, JACK ARNHOLZ, LAUREN KING, MICHELLE STODDART and CATHERINE THORBECKE, ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — This is Day 10 of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Here is how events are unfolding. All times Eastern:
Jan 29, 11:06 am
Psaki says Biden ‘encouraged’ by Johnson & Johnson vaccine news
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki shared Biden’s reaction to headlines this morning that Johnson & Johnson said its vaccine is 85% effective against severe COVID-19 disease.
“The president is encouraged by positive data on a potential new vaccine,” Psaki said. “He also knows that this is just new data and now is the time for the FDA to do its job of evaluating the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.”
NEW: WH Press Sec. Jen Psaki says Pres. Biden is "encouraged" by Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine data, adding: "He also know that this is just new data and now is the time for the FDA to do its job of evaluating the safety and efficacy of the vaccine." https://t.co/KtvihSOIaa pic.twitter.com/8h2XAH8m3i
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 29, 2021
In the wide-ranging briefing, Psaki also took multiple questions about the controversy surrounding GameStop stock that upended Wall Street and drew swift reactions from lawmakers this week.
“I know the SEC issued a new statement earlier this morning,” she said. “I’d certainly point you to that and others to that.”
“We of course respect the role of regulatory agencies, they are closely monitoring the situation, but it’s under their purview at this point in time,” she added.
Psaki distanced the White House from the saga, adding, that “part of our education can be conveying to people that the SEC is the regulatory body that would oversee this and can speak to it further.”
Jan 29, 9:18 am
Biden to visit wounded service members at Walter Reed
President Joe Biden ends a busy week with a visit to wounded service members at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday.
The afternoon visit will also mark the first time the new president will ride Marine One, and it’s unclear whether he will stop to take questions from reporters the way his predecessor did before boarding the chopper on the White House South Lawn.
Earlier Friday, Biden and Kamala Harris will receive the President’s Daily Brief at the Oval Office as well as an economic briefing with the new Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Biden is not expected to sign any new executive orders Friday, though he has been churning them out since he entered office.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Jen Psaki will hold a briefing this morning at 10 a.m. ET.
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