On The Money: COVID-19 relief picks up steam as McConnell, Pelosi hold talks | Slowing job growth raises fears of double-dip recession | Biden officially announces Brian Deese as top economic adviser

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THE BIG DEAL—COVID-19 relief picks up steam as McConnell, Pelosi hold talks: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) held talks on Thursday about reaching a COVID-19 relief deal before Christmas, with both expressing a desire to quickly pass legislation, according to a senior aide to Pelosi.

“The Speaker and Leader McConnell spoke at 12:45 p.m. today by phone about their shared commitment to completing an omnibus and COVID relief as soon as possible,” Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Pelosi, said Thursday afternoon.

Fresh momentum: 

• Earlier in the day, Pelosi told reporters “we will have an agreement” on coronavirus package funding by Dec. 11, the date government funding is set to expire.
• McConnell told reporters Tuesday that additional COVID-19 relief funding would likely be added to the expected $1.4 trillion omnibus spending package that would fund the federal government beyond Dec. 11 through fiscal 2021, which ends on Sept. 30.
• Shortly before that conversation, McConnell met with a group of Senate Republican moderates who support a compromise $908 billion coronavirus relief bill that would include $160 billion in funding for state and local governments, a sticking point for many conservatives, including McConnell.

McConnell on Thursday morning said on the Senate floor “compromise is within reach.”

“We know where we agree. We can do this. Let me say it again. We can do this. And we need to do this,” he said.

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton brings us up to speed here.

The revival of coronavirus relief talks comes as the U.S. economy faces serious risks of falling into another recession. We’ve got more on that below.

LEADING THE DAY

Slowing job growth raises fears of double-dip recession: A weakening labor market is raising fears of a double-dip recession heading into the winter.

• New figures on Wednesday showed job growth in the private sector last month fell to its slowest pace since July as coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths hit record highs.
• The Labor Department’s release of the November jobs report on Friday will provide the broadest view of just how much the U.S. workforce has weakened eight months into the pandemic. 
• While U.S. employers are expected to have added roughly 400,000 jobs last month, economists fear that the progress made since April could slip into reverse without more help from the White House and lawmakers.

Scott Clemons, chief investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., warned that a failure to bridge the gap between the coronavirus-ridden economy and the imminent promise of a post-pandemic future could deepen a cycle of layoffs, declines in consumer demand and business closures.

“We’ll still add half a million jobs or so [in November]. But that still leaves a pretty big hole from earlier this year, and the pace of recovery is kind of stagnated,” he said.

I explain why here.

Read more: Weekly jobless claims dip to 712,000 in last week of November

Biden officially announces Brian Deese as top economic adviser: President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday officially tapped former Obama administration official Brian Deese to lead the National Economic Council, his latest announcement to round out his economic team.

• Deese, who was widely expected to get the role, formerly served as the deputy director of the council and as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
• He was a key player in negotiations for the auto industry bailout during the Obama administration and aided in talks to join the Paris climate accord.

“Brian is among the most tested and accomplished public servants in the country — a trusted voice I can count on to help us end the ongoing economic crisis, build a better economy that deals everybody in, and take on the existential threat of climate change in a way that creates good-paying American jobs,” Biden said in a statement.

Here’s more from The Hill’s Brett Samuels.

GOP blocks effort to make payroll tax deferral optional for federal workers: Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Thursday attempted to get the Senate to immediately pass his bill to make President Trump’s payroll tax deferral optional for federal workers and military members, but Republicans blocked the effort.

• Van Hollen’s bill would allow the payroll tax deferral to be optional for employees of any employer that chooses to participate in the deferral, including the federal government. 
• Most businesses have not been deferring their workers’ payroll taxes, but the deferral has been mandatory for civilian employees at federal agencies and members of the armed forces.

Van Hollen argued on the Senate floor that his bill is a matter of “fundamental fairness,” and that passing the measure would limit the amount of deferred taxes that federal workers and military members would have to pay early next year. But Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), objected to Van Hollen’s request for the Senate to unanimously pass the bill, arguing that Congress should instead forgive the deferred payroll taxes.

The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda explains here.

GOOD TO KNOW

• The Senate on Thursday voted to confirm Christopher Waller to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, adding another moderate Republican who favors low interest rates to the central bank.
• Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) will be the next House Appropriations Committee chairwoman following a Thursday vote by the House Democratic Caucus.
• Stocks closed relatively flat Thursday, stalling after setting new records earlier in the week.
• Broad legislation to combat the use of shell companies by criminals and foreign adversaries is nearing the finish line after more than 10 years of lobbying and negotiations.

ODDS AND ENDS

• The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a complaint against Google Wednesday alleging that the company illegally spied on and then fired two employees for organizing.
• UPS has reportedly told drivers across the country to stop picking up packages from six retailers, including Gap, Nike and Macy’s, as the shipping company attempts to keep up with a record-breaking online shopping season amid the coronavirus pandemic.