Nine Senators–five Democrats and four Republicans–worked through the Thanksgiving recess to try to work out a deal on continuation of coronavirus relief, hoping to have a compromise bill to present to the Senate before the end of the year when many aid programs expire, NBC News reports.

The nine Senators, hampered by coronavirus restrictions, held a series of individual calls and group discussions to see if a compromise bill can be crafted.  The House passed the $2.2 trillion HEROES Act in May, but the Senate, led by Republican House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to take up the legislation and instead introduced a $500 billion bill that went nowhere.  Since the election, lame duck president Trump and the White House have been inactive in negotiations, perhaps because they want problems to amass for Democratic President-elect Joe Biden.

Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner said on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Report” that “people of good faith are working together to see if we can get a meaningful package.”

NBC reports that the Senators involved included Democrats Warner, West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, Illinois’s Dick Durbin, Delaware’s Chris Coons, and Colorado’s Michael Bennet.  Republicans participating are Maine’s Susan Collins, Utah’s Mitt Romney, Ohio’s Rob Portman, and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski.

During the summer, the White House took over negotiations when McConnell was ineffective in uniting the Senate Republican caucus, and Trump designated Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as lead negotiator.  At one point, Trump said he wanted a bill more robust than the one put forth by Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

However, after Trump lost reelection November 3rd, the White House has refused further efforts.  Mnuchin has also designated $455 billion in unspent relief from the March CARES Act to be put into the Treasury Department’s General Fund, meaning the incoming Biden Administration cannot use it for coronavirus relief funding.

CARES Act funding for various programs has been expiring since September, leading to concerns of slow does in consumer spending and business assistance that could cripple the US economy, leading to a so-called “double dip” recession.

Democrats seek an extension for unemployment benefits for people laid off because of the pandemic; assistance for small business shut down or otherwise impacted by local public health restrictions; aid to state and local government experiencing shortfalls in tax revenues; and more oversight for programs and spending.

Republicans, on the other hand, insist that any aid package include a blanket protection for employers whose employees may contract coronavirus on the job. They also object to financial aid for state and local governments, claiming falsely that the money is earmarked only to “Democrat cities” they claim are financially mismanaged.

Both sides, however, seem to want a second round of household stimulus checks, but no move has been made to make sure aid possible.