| CONGRESS & STIMULUS TALKS: The road to strike another coronavirus relief deal has become increasingly steep. The most recent offer by the White House has drawn the ire of both Democrats and Republicans, lowering the chances the two sides strike a deal before Election Day. Tensions flared on Saturday during a call between the White House and Senate Republicans, who trashed the administration’s latest offer to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — a $1.8 trillion proposal that includes $300 billion in funds for state and local governments and an increase in the amount of direct payments per child from $500 to $1,000. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Health Committee, told Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that there is “no appetite” within the conference for a bill with that price tag, with others saying it would prove to be a political issue in the next 22 days before the election. “This bill makes sex look like church,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said on the call, a source told The Hill. In response, Meadows told the Senate GOP conference members that "you all will have to come to my funeral" once he delivered their concerns to the president, who has pushed for a deal and told his deputies to “go big” (The Hill). Now, lawmakers and negotiators are left to answer a question: Where to go from here? In a letter to House Democrats on Sunday, Pelosi struck a grim tone, laying the blame at the feet of the administration for the lack of an agreement (The Hill). “As the infections soar and the deaths increase, this priority continues to be urgent. This past week, the President demonstrated very clearly that he has not taken the war against the virus seriously, personally or nationally,” Pelosi wrote. “This attitude is reflected in the grossly inadequate response we finally received from the Administration on Saturday. The news is filled with the numbers in terms of dollars. … We have other differences in terms of who benefits from the spending. But in terms of addressing testing, tracing and treatment, what the Trump Administration has offered is wholly insufficient.” On Sunday, Trump told Fox Business that the GOP is “all ready to go” for a deal, seemingly ignoring the broad opposition among Senate Republicans that stands as the preeminent obstacle, with the administration unable to thread the needle between its own party and Democratic leaders. "Republicans want to do it. We’re having a hard time with Nancy Pelosi. … Republicans want to do it,” Trump said. “We’re ready to go. We’re all ready to go. We can’t get Nancy Pelosi to sign the documents.” The Washington Post: Prospects for more stimulus checks, coronavirus relief fade as the latest offer from Trump draws opposition from Republicans and Democrats. Reuters: White House seeks limited coronavirus relief bill, promises further talks on broader stimulus. The Hill: Advocates plead for housing aid as eviction cliff looms. The Associated Press: COVID-19 coverage safety net has plenty of holes in the U.S. 
© Getty Images **** MORE 2020 POLITICS: As Democrats continue to suffer from 2016-induced PTSD, the party is warning its supporters against becoming complacent as Biden tallies a formidable polling advantage over the president, who is set for a return to the campaign trail this week. Leaders in both parties see polls that show the entire battleground map moving against Trump following the first presidential debate and his coronavirus diagnosis. However, as The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports, the 2016 experience remains jarring for Democrats, who say that, despite Biden’s polling strength, a lot can change in a matter of weeks and that small changes in their projected turnout models could produce wild swings in Electoral College results. “I think we’re putting that fear [of another upset loss] to good use, and we’re being constructive in the way we’re approaching the election,” said Guy Cecil, chairman of Priorities USA, the largest Democratic super PAC supporting Biden’s campaign. “Am I optimistic? Yes. But I do continue to have serious concerns and we need to continue to run through the finish line.” While both parties have their eyes on a number of states, the focus for each campaign is most intense in two states: Florida and Pennsylvania. It’s no accident that Trump’s first two rallies after being medically cleared to resume in-person campaigning will take place in the two hotly contested states, with events at airports in Sanford, Fla., and Johnstown, Pa., on the docket. Warning signs in polls have cropped up for Trump, especially since his performance in the first debate almost two weeks ago. According to The Associated Press, reporting from The Villages in Florida, the Trump campaign sees sliding support from senior citizens — a key constituency that propelled him to his 2016 win — in part due to his response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Sumter County, home to the Sunshine State’s populous retired community that has long supported Republicans, Trump won by a 2-to-1 margin in 2016 and will have to replicate that performance to pull off a repeat result, according to Wasserman. The New York Times: Can Trump squeeze more from his white base in Pennsylvania and beyond? The Washington Post: Pennsylvania emerges as “tipping point” battleground for Biden and Trump — before and after Election Day. Des Moines Register: “We don't want a super-spread event”: Des Moines mayor worries Trump rally will spread COVID-19. Another spot to watch with 22 days until Nov. 3 is Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, which could flip and hand a key boost to Biden in his push for the requisite 270 electoral votes. As The Hill’s Julia Manchester notes, 48 percent of likely voters in the district said they support Biden, compared with only 41 percent for Trump, according to a New York Times-Siena College survey released last week. Four years ago, Trump won the district by 2 percentage points, and the Omaha-centric district could prove decisive in a close race. Trump’s increasingly slumping campaign could also spell doom for the GOP’s chances to retain the upper chamber, with Republicans growing alarmed that they could see their three-seat majority erased in a matter of weeks. On Friday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told CNBC that while Trump could win reelection by a “big margin,” GOP down-ballot candidates could also get wiped out in a “bloodbath.” “I am worried. It’s volatile. It’s highly volatile,” he said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” NBC News: Anthony Fauci rips new Trump campaign ad, says it uses his comments “out of context.” The New York Times: Four tricky issues for the Biden-Harris ticket. 
© Getty Images As The Hill’s Alexander Bolton writes, a chief concern for the Senate GOP is Trump’s cash crunch, which has forced him to cut back on advertising in key battleground states at a time when Senate Democratic challengers are projected to significantly outraise GOP incumbents heading into the final stretch. The cash disparity cropped up again on Sunday in a big way as Democrat Jaime Harrison announced that he raised $57 million in the third fundraising quarter — a new single-quarter record for a Senate candidate, dwarfing the $38.1 million former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) raised two years ago (The Associated Press). Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill: Many Maine voters like Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). It may not be enough. The Wall Street Journal: Georgia’s two Senate races face prospect of runoffs. The Hill: Chamber-backed Democrats embrace endorsements in final stretch. | 
