Two weeks in, Biden relishes a good stroll around the West Wing—but hasn’t had an opportunity to phone the families of fallen officers.

The Latest on COVID Relief.

Biden has said he is open to lowering the threshold for direct payments, but not reducing the check to less than $1,400, while Republicans lobby for a smaller check AND a much lower threshold of $40,000. (Either proposal for better aid targeting constitutes a far cry from Biden’s tantalizing earlier suggestion of $2,000.)

Biden’s willingness to talk with Republicans does not signal a deceleration, however; Senate Democrats have held a vote on a budget resolution to set in motion the reconciliation process which, if successful, could bypass the 60-vote threshold and pass the bill with a simple majority.

“The Vast, Vast Majority.”

On Tuesday morning in Fort Lauderdale, two FBI agents, Special Agent Daniel Alfin and Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger, were shot and killed while attempting to serve a search warrant in a child pornography case. Three other officers were also shot and wounded.

FOX reported Wednesday that from behind the Resolute Desk, Biden offered his condolences to the families—then remarked that, on balance, the FBI are mostly good guys.

“By and large, the vast, vast majority of these men and women are decent, honorable people who put themselves on the line,” he said.

The president also said that he had “not had an opportunity, nor will I try today, to contact them.”

After one of the deadliest days in FBI history, fallen officers deserve better. Full stop.

Masks For All?

You may or may not be receiving thousands of dollars in the mail after all, but there’s a chance you might receive a cheap, Chinese-made mask.

The Biden COVID team is reportedly discussing the logistics of mailing face coverings directly to households, an initiative the Trump team also discussed but ultimately scrapped.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has suggested that two masks wouldn’t hurt if “you feel maybe more of a physical barrier would be better,” but there has not yet been a science-based recommendation from the CDC that two masks are more efficacious in preventing transmission of COVID-19.

Bonus: Trump Was “Aimless,” As Biden Rambles Around.

Yesterday, Anita Kumar of POLITICO compared the current and former Presidents’ day-to-day habits in the West Wing, describing Trump’s days as “seemingly aimless” and “haphazard” while complimenting the current occupant: “Biden’s West Wing is already far more disciplined than Trump’s ever was, especially when it comes to access to the president.”

But in Biden’s “far more disciplined” West Wing, he likes to stroll around for impromptu, in-person visits with staff. He stopped a policy meeting to call the child of a National Security Council staffer, just to say hi. Sometimes “he just can’t help himself” from making his own unscheduled calls—the very habit Trump was pointlessly chastised for. Oh, and his German Shepherds can walk into the Oval Office anytime.

Don’t worry. If during the next 4 years you start to miss a president who communicated directly with the American people, ran his own schedule, and followed his own instincts—corporate media will be there to tell you what’s good for you.

Bonus Bonus: Someone Get Him Away from the Fire.