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OK, BUCKLE UP … A BUNCH OF COVID RELIEF STUFF GOING ON, kind of …

SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI and Treasury Secretary STEVEN MNUCHIN will speak about Covid relief at 1 p.m. today. It’s their first conversation since Oct. 26. This conversation will be focused on the government spending bill that needs to pass before Dec. 11. Covid relief is also in the mix, though, and that’s certain to come up.

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL and the Senate GOP leadership are expected at a 2 p.m. leadership stakeout in the Mansfield Room. Expect questions on President DONALD TRUMP, Covid talks and more.

THE NARROW PATH TO A COVID DEAL … A BIPARTISAN GROUP of senators and House lawmakers got together this morning to unveil their own Covid relief deal -- and yes, there were members of the poorly named Problem Solvers Caucus in attendance. Their proposal is close to $1 trillion -- nearly double what Senate Republican leaders have said they are willing to spend.

BUT THIS BIPARTISAN GROUP did serve to restart conversation on Covid relief.

-- THE MORE IMPORTANT AND RELEVANT COMMENTS came from Sen. JOHN THUNE (R-S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, who we caught outside his office this morning.

-- RED LINE ALERT: THUNE SAID that Democrats want “more money for state and local governments, and that’s a big non-starter with a lot of our members.”

-- BUT … THE WAY FORWARD: THUNE said: “I think on PPP, vaccines, schools -- there’s a lot of agreement, so I think there’s a path there.”

IF THIS IS GOING TO GET DONE, it needs to get done quickly. Any small-bore Covid items would likely have to ride on the back of a government funding bill. It’s much more likely to see straight extensions of expiring programs rather than a massive new bill -- if anything happens. Of course, there are many hurdles -- in other words, they are still fighting over the same stuff they have been fighting over for months.

THE VIEW FROM THE FED … CHAIR JAY POWELL: “The risk of overdoing it is less than the risk of under-doing it.” (h/t NYT’s JEANNA SMIALEK)

DAILY RUDY … NYT’S MAGGIE HABERMAN and MIKE SCHMIDT: “Giuliani is said to have discussed a possible pardon with Trump”: “Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s lawyer who has led the most extensive efforts to damage his client’s political rivals and undermine the election results, discussed with the president as recently as last week the possibility of receiving a pre-emptive pardon before Mr. Trump leaves office, according to two people told of the discussion. It was not clear who raised the topic. The men have also talked previously about a pardon for Mr. Giuliani, according to the people. Mr. Trump has not indicated what he will do, one of the people said.” Giuliani denied the NYT report on Twitter.

Good Tuesday afternoon.

STILL TRYING … ZACH MONTELLARO: “Trump files suit to overturn his loss in Wisconsin” … The suit

HAPPENING TODAY -- “CDC advisers to vote Tuesday on who will be first in line for a vaccine,” by WaPo’s Lena Sun and Isaac Stanley-Becker: “[O]n Tuesday, a little-known federal advisory committee is expected to provide some of the pandemic’s most consequential directions to states, 10 months after the first case of covid-19 was reported in the United States. The directions are to prioritize health-care workers and residents of long-term care facilities to get the first shots of coronavirus vaccine in the initial rollout, once federal regulators authorize one, because the vaccine initially will be in extremely short supply.

“Those priority groups, totaling about 24 million people, have been broadly supported by the advisory group in recent meetings. Tuesday’s formal vote would affirm the recommendations to Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that health-care personnel and nursing home residents be first in line, in what is known as phase 1a. … The advisory group will also make recommendations at later meetings for priority groups in the next phases, which include essential workers and older adults.” WaPo

VACCINE TIMELINE -- “European regulator could OK 1st COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 29,” by AP’s Frank Jordans in Berlin, Maria Cheng in London and Samuel Petrequin in Brussels

MARIANNE LEVINE and BURGESS EVERETT: “Senate Democrats weigh new leadership rules amid fight for Judiciary post”: “Senate Democrats are discussing whether to revisit their caucus rules governing leadership posts, amid an internal debate over who should helm the powerful Judiciary Committee, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

“With Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) stepping down as the top Democrat on the committee in the next Congress, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) are both vying to succeed her. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is staying neutral on the matter so far. But Durbin’s bid to be both whip and the top Democrat on Judiciary has spurred a broader debate within the caucus over how much power individual senators should accumulate.” POLITICO

HOT ON THE LEFT -- “Biden Faces a Balancing Act in Choosing Top Aides With Business Ties,” by NYT’s Alan Rappeport: “In a sign of the pushback to come, the Revolving Door Project has been urging Mr. Biden to keep corporate influence out of his administration, has compiled a 13-page document about [Jeffrey] Zients. The file highlights his wealth, his appetite for deficit reduction during the Obama years and his recent work as chief executive of Cranemere. …

“Progressives have been pushing the Biden transition team to install their preferred candidates in top roles and have been fairly supportive of some of Mr. Biden’s early picks. But others are triggering a backlash, including Brian Deese, whom Mr. Biden has tapped to head the National Economic Council, and Adewale Adeyemo, the president-elect’s choice for deputy Treasury secretary. Both men have worked at the asset management firm BlackRock, and many in the progressive wing view deep industry ties as a red flag.” NYT

ALL EYES ON GEORGIA -- “Trump headed to Georgia as turnout driver, but also a threat,” by AP’s Bill Barrow in Atlanta and Alan Fram: “Republicans acknowledge Trump as the GOP’s biggest turnout driver, including in Georgia, where Biden won by fewer than 13,000 votes out of about 5 million cast. That means every bit of enthusiasm from one of Trump’s signature rallies could matter.

“But some Republicans worry Trump will use the platform to amplify his baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud — arguments roundly rejected in state and federal courts across the country. That could make it harder for Perdue and Loeffler to keep a clear focus on the stakes in January and could even discourage Republicans from voting.” AP

HMM … “While Kelly Loeffler Opposed New COVID Aid, Her Husband’s Firm Sought to Profit Off the Pandemic,” by Mother Jones’ David Corn: “Loeffler’s husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, is CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, which owns a variety of financial exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, and other financial businesses. The company is valued at close to $60 billion. Loeffler, who was appointed to fill a vacant Senate seat in late 2019 and who now is in a run-off contest against Democrat Raphael Warnock, worked at Intercontinental Exchange for 16 years and left the firm at the end of 2018. …

“ICE is best known for its ownership of various exchanges, including futures exchanges in the United States, Canada, and Europe. But it also has a business that handles the processing of mortgages. This is the fastest growing part of the firm. And in recent years, ICE has pushed to digitalize the mortgage industry. This summer, pursuing dominance in the online mortgage business, Sprecher engineered an $11 billion purchase of Ellie Mae, a leading provider of software for originating mortgages.”

SCOTUS WATCH -- “Supreme Court weighs child-slavery case against Nestlé USA, Cargill,” by WaPo’s Peter Whoriskey: “An effort to hold U.S. chocolate companies responsible for child labor on farms supplying their cocoa goes before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, as justices consider a lawsuit against Nestlé USA and Cargill brought by six Africans who say that as children they were trafficked out of Mali, forced to work long hours on Ivory Coast cocoa farms and kept at night in locked shacks.

“Child labor is widespread on the cocoa farms of West Africa, where about two-thirds of the world’s cocoa is grown, and attorneys for the Malians argue Nestlé and other chocolate companies should better monitor child labor on the farms that produce their cocoa.”

BIANCA QUILANTAN: “An anti-affirmative action group is trying to erase race from college admissions”: “The group behind a sweeping crusade attacking the use of race in college admissions hasn’t won a case yet — and that’s actually good for its cause. Those lower court losses could carry Students For Fair Admissions’ hopes to ban the use of affirmative action in college admissions to a Supreme Court that may finally have the right combination of justices to vote in their favor.

“Legal strategist Edward Blum’s group, which represents about 23,000 students, argues that policies common at U.S. universities put white and Asian American students at a disadvantage. … With an evolved legal approach, the backing of the Trump administration and a newly cemented conservative majority on the Supreme Court bench, Blum may finally have the pieces he needs to push the court to ban the use of race in admissions altogether.” POLITICO

2022 WATCH -- “Republican Mark Walker announces candidacy in 2022 North Carolina Senate race,” by Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser

KNOWING ‘ANONYMOUS’ -- “Miles Taylor spoke out against Trump as ‘Anonymous.’ Now he’s gone public and is hiding out,” by WaPo’s Manuel Roig-Franzia: “In the weeks since Taylor’s self-induced unmasking, he has shuffled between at least 10 undisclosed locations, he says, bunking in private homes and hotels after receiving a deluge of death threats. … Worried that he’ll be attacked, Taylor now employs private security. …

“Now, come into the light, Taylor would like to be a Republican Party thought leader, he says, offering, along with fellow Trump dissenters, ‘a rational voice within the party to steer the GOP back to principles-based governing, and away from the cult of personality around Donald Trump.’ Yet a question lingers behind the smile and the telegenic glossiness: Will the people who listened to Taylor when he was Anonymous listen to him now?” WaPo

TRANSITIONS -- Alex Fitzsimmons will be a senior program director at ClearPath. He previously was deputy assistant Energy secretary for energy efficiency. … Adam Bramwell is joining Cohen & Gresser to lead its government relations practice. He previously was managing director at Mercury Public Affairs, and is a Chris Coons alum. … Rachel Wagley will be chief of staff for Rep.-elect Blake Moore (R-Utah). She currently is legislative director for Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.).

ENGAGED -- Chris Latimer, a pediatric neurology resident at Johns Hopkins, proposed to Allie Karr, who will start in January as a senior manager of integrated media at the Hershey Company, just before Thanksgiving dinner while visiting her family in Denver. They met in 2010 while students at GW. Pic