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After months of shadowboxing amid a tense and toxic campaign, Capitol Hill’s main players are returning for one final, perhaps futile, attempt at deal-making on a challenging menu of year-end business. COVID-19 relief, a $1.4 trillion catchall spending package, and defense policy — and a final burst of judicial nominees — dominate a truncated two- or three-week session occurring as the coronavirus pandemic rockets out of control in President Donald Trump’s final weeks in office. (Taylor, 11/30)

For many, the outcome is of extreme financial importance: Evidence suggests the unemployed have drawn down savings at a rapid clip and are going hungry more often than those who’ve kept their jobs and hours intact. Time is quickly running out to pass something by year-end to prevent a “benefits cliff,” which would erase temporary protections in place for renters, student loan borrowers and the jobless. (Iacurci, 11/28)

Former President Obama's chief economist said on Sunday that Democrats should accept a smaller coronavirus relief package if necessary in order to get at least minimal relief to Americans. Former White House Chief Economist Austan Goolsbee told CNN’s “Inside Politics” that he’s “not an expert on the political negotiations” but he said he hopes that Congress can agree on a relief package soon because Americans are “really hurting.” (Coleman, 11/29)

Tens of millions of workers stand to lose access to federally mandated paid sick and family leave at the end of December, compounding the hardship over the surging pandemic for American families. Families First, a relief package enacted in March, required many employers to provide workers with two weeks of coronavirus-related sick leave at full pay and up to 12 weeks of family and medical leave to care for family members at two-thirds pay. Researchers estimate this covered half the U.S. workforce. (Mueller, 11/29)

A nationwide eviction ban was supposed to protect tenants like Tawanda Mormon, who was forced out of her two-bedroom apartment last month in Cleveland. The 46-year-old, who was hospitalized in August for the coronavirus and can’t work due to mental health issues, said she fell behind on her $500-a-month rent because she needed the money to pay for food. When she was evicted in October, Mormon said she was unaware of President Donald Trump’s directive, implemented in September by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that broadly prevents evictions through the end of 2020. (Casey, 11/29)

Rep.-elect Carlos Gimenez of Florida announced Friday evening that he and his wife tested positive for Covid-19 Thursday and are self-isolating in their home. "After several negative tests, both Lourdes and I tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. We are both feeling good and experiencing no symptoms at this time," Gimenez said in a statement. (Flores and LeBlanc, 11/27)