Biden pressed on filibuster reform, border issues

In his first presidential press conference, Joe Biden was pressed on other issues beyond the pandemic including reforming the Senate filibuster rule and addressing the large number of young refugees seeking asylum at the southern border.

Even as his administration navigates the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic damage, Biden is grappling with how to deliver on a host of big promises despite a razor-thin Senate majority. He teased that changes to Senate rules that would allow bills to pass with fewer votes may be necessary for him to achieve some of those goals.

"Overall on the filibuster, President Biden made his strategy pretty clear, which is to say I'm a problem solver. I want to make progress, but what he was doing there is putting the burden on Republicans," said Bill Barrow, an Associated Press National Political Reporter.

Despite strong poll numbers, Biden faces headwinds in delivering on his ambitious legislative agenda. His party's congressional majorities are narrow, Republican opposition appears entrenched and not all Democrats are aligned in reforming Senate rules on the filibuster.

Biden at first backed a modification — but not elimination — of the arcane procedural tactic. But he then suggested, at least on certain issues, he would go further, saying Republicans often "abuse" the filibuster — which is a rule that requires 60 votes to pass legislation in the Senate.

"They haven't said this to me, but what I think they're doing is he's baiting the Republicans, saying, look, you give me 60 votes, I'll cut a deal with you. That's going to make the left mad, and I'll sign it," Barrow said.

"He knows they're not going to do that," he added. "So once they say 'No' and he says, 'Hey, you had your shot. Now the 50 of us on my side are going to go over and get something that's further to the left than the more incremental compromise I would've signed with 60 of you jerkers.' I think he's baiting them."

President Joe Biden says his administration is working on getting beds and other facilities up and running so children held in Border Patrol custody can be transferred.

Biden says in his first news conference that most of the migrants who are coming to the U.S.-Mexico border are being sent back, except for children. He says his administration is working to ease delays so children can be released from government custody to sponsors.

"Republicans are really trying to sink their teeth into this issue, saying, look, you've got kids in cages at the border again yourself, this kind of this revolving argument of hypocrisy and inhumane treatment over what's happening at the border," Barrow said.

One reporter during the press conference kept asking Biden follow-up questions on his commitment to transparency and whether his administration will allow the media to document the overcrowded detention facilities where hundreds of migrant children and teenagers have ended up once arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Still (Biden) found himself a little bit caught in a trap, not offering full details, saying, "Yes, we will give the media access to these facilities, but only after we get everything in place and get our program fully going... I will commit to transparency, but," Barrow said. "And that's going to give an opening both to partisan critics and it will continue to have questions raised from advocates and even voters in the middle that are just, you know, raising good-faith questions about this very complicated issue."

Biden is pushing back against the idea there's a crush of migrants coming to the border.

The Biden administration expels nearly all single adults without an opportunity to seek asylum under pandemic-related powers declared under a public health law. But six of 10 people in migrant families encountered by authorities in February were allowed to stay in the U.S. to seek asylum.