Biden news: President meets with GOP on Covid bill as Democrats move to oust Marjorie Taylor Greene

MTG said today she will be meeting with Donald Trump in Florida, claiming she received the former president’s “100 per cent” backing and support last week.

"But he's doing really well,” she told One America News, via Politico.  

“I'm excited to go visit him soon and continue to give him a call and talk to him frequently. Great news is, he supports me 100 percent, and I've always supported him. President Trump is always here for the people, and he's not going anywhere. So I look forward to, to joining him and what his future plans may be.”

Anti-vaxxers have been harassing a nurse from Tennessee who they are wrongly convinced is dead, after she fainted when receiving her coronavirus vaccine live on TV.

Tiffany Dover, 30-year-old nurse manager at CHI Memorial Hospital, and a mother of two, was chosen to receive the Pfizer vaccine live in front of the camera in December and fainted moments after getting the shot.

Ms Dover told WRCB following the incident that she felt fine not long after, that fainting was common for her and that she did not regret taking the vaccine.

Louise Hall has the report.

Former vice president Mike Pence is reportedly starting on plans to form a political action committee, amid rumours of a presidential run in 2024.

NBC News reported on Monday that Mr Pence will announce the committee sometime in the next few weeks.

Mr Pence’s group would be classed as a 501(c)4 organisation, meaning that it would be able to buy ads for candidates but would only be able to spend up to half its funds on political ventures.

James Crump reports.

“My first question to congresswoman Greene was: 'Do you really believe that Parkland and Sandy Hook were false flags and staged?'” Ms Schulman said about their conversation. “Her answer to me was unequivocally 'No, I do not.'”

Linda Beigel Schulman, whose son Scott Beigel died in the Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, told MSNBC on Sunday that she had a “friendly” conversation with Ms Greene on Saturday.

James Crump has more.

Republican officials from the George W Bush administration have fled the GOP in droves, calling it "the cult of Trump".  

According to Reuters, the mass exodus is driven by the party's unwillingness to hold Mr Trump accountable for the attack on Congress by his supporters on 6 January.  

Some disillusioned Republicans hoped that Mr Trump finally leaving the White House while facing a second impeachment would make him so repellant that the party would have no choice but to distance itself from him and move on.  

However, it appears not even the stink of sedition and death can break the hold Mr Trump has over the party; Republicans in the Senate have largely signalled they plan to vote to acquit the former president when he faces his second impeachment trial later this month.

Graig Graziosi reports.

A group of Republicans in Georgia has launched a campaign to preemptively counter former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in the event she decides to run against Governor Brian Kemp in 2022.  

The "Stop Stacey" committee said it would work to "prevent a complete left-wing takeover of Georgia".  

The campaign is headed by a former Kelly Loeffler staffer and a Republican strategist and ally of Mr Kemp.  

Graig Graziosi reports.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have taken the first massive step towards passing Joe Biden’s $1.9trn Covid relief package on a party-line basis.

The pair of Democratic leaders filed what’s known as a “joint budget resolution” on Monday that will provide a legislative vehicle for negotiators from each chamber to sidestep Republican opposition in the Senate, which usually requires 60 votes to end a filibuster attempt and pass legislation.

With 50 Democratic (or Democratic-caucusing) senators plus Vice President Kamala Harris ready to cast a tiebreaker vote, Mr Schumer likely has the votes to send the final product to the Oval Office for Mr Biden’s signature.

Griffin Connolly reports.

The White House says it has “been in touch” with Senator Joe Manchin after he expressed surprise at Kamala Harris doing media interviews in his home state of West Virginia.

Mr Manchin was reportedly annoyed at not being told the vice president would be promoting Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic relief plan on TV stations in the state.

Mr Manchin, a conservative Democrat, is now a key vote in any major legislation the White House wants to pass through the Senate.

"We've been in touch with Senator Manchin, as we have been for many weeks and will continue to be moving forward," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

Graeme Massie reports.

A Republican congressman who voted to impeach Donald Trump has launched a campaign to take back the party from supporters of the former president like Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Adam Kinzinger has set up a new political action committee to fight back against the right wing of his own party.

The Air Force veteran said that he was driven to launch the “Country First” PAC after violent pro-Trump rioters at the capitol tried to prevent Joe Biden’s victory being certified.

“This is no time for silence. Not after the last month. Not after the last few years. Someone needs to tell the truth,” he said in a video announcing the campaign.

Graeme Massie reports.

The Biden administration has asked the Supreme Court to put off arguments over two controversial Trump administration policies that have been challenged in court now that President Joe Biden has taken steps to unwind them.

The Justice Department asked the justices Monday to cancel arguments on 22 February in a case over President Donald Trump’s decision to divert billions of dollars in taxpayer money to construction of portions of a wall along the border with Mexico.

The new administration made a similar request for arguments set for a week later over the Trump policy that forced asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for U.S. court hearings. - AP