WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave an optimistic assessment of the prospects for a mid-sized COVID-19 relief bill and a separate $1.4 trillion government-wide spending bill on Friday, teeing up expectations for a successful burst of legislative action to reverse months of frustration on pandemic relief.

Pelosi told reporters that she and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are in sync on a plan to reach agreement on the massive omnibus spending bill and to add COVID-19 relief to it.

Pelosi said a bipartisan, middle-of-the-road plan being finalized by a diverse gaggle of senators that she has endorsed as a foundation for the relief bill is a good effort, even though it’s a significant retreat from where Democrats stood before the election.

“It’s a good product,” Pelosi said. “It’s not everything we want.” Pelosi had dismissed an even larger package floated by moderates in September as inadequate, but said that the looming arrival of vaccines and President-elect Joe Biden’s victory are a “game changer” that should guarantee more aid next year and the elimination of the pandemic. She called the bill a bridge “until the inauguration and the emergence of the vaccine.”

When asked by a reporter why she would consider an aid bill for less than $1 trillion when she had previously reject Republican proposals she deemed “half a loaf,” Pelosi shot back, “Don’t characterize what we did before as a mistake as a preface to your question if you want an answer.”

The California congresswoman said the decision “was not a mistake,” reiterating that “with a Democratic president committed to a scientific solution for this, with the idea that we will have a vaccine, it’s a complete game changer.”

Pelosi and McConnell often fight and snipe at each other, but they are an unstoppable force when their interests align. They spoke on the phone Thursday, a conversation that came the day after Pelosi signaled a willingness to make major concessions in search of a COVID-19 rescue package in the $1 trillion range.

“We had a good conversation. I think we’re both interested in getting an outcome, both on the omnibus and on a coronavirus package,” McConnell said Thursday.

The pace of the economic recovery has slowed, COVID-19 caseloads are spiraling and the daily death toll is equaling records, a toxic statistical stew that shows the mandate for a second major relief package after months of failed promises. It’s also a promising moment after Biden rallied behind the bipartisan measure and top congressional Democrats began beating a retreat to endorse the $908 billion bipartisan framework as a way to build an agreement.

Some conservatives, including Republicans from COVID-19 hot spots like North Dakota and Iowa, said they were comfortable with an aid package carrying the almost $1 trillion price tag. The $908 billion cost is what many Republicans, McConnell included, signaled they were willing to accept this summer before scaling back their ambitions to maintain GOP unity.

The scaled-back, bipartisan measure is the product of talks involving Republicans Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, along with Democrats like Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Dick Durbin of Illinois. Also lending credibility to the middle-of-the-road package is a well-intentioned “problem solvers” group that promises to deliver a bipartisan vote.

A key McConnell ally, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he is negotiating with fellow Judiciary Committee member Durbin over a provision much sought by Republicans and McConnell in particular that would give a liability shield to businesses, universities and other organizations against COVID-19-related lawsuits.

McConnell himself said a huge drop in Democratic demands — from more than $2 trillion to less than $1 trillion — was “at least movement in the right direction.”

And Trump weighed in to support the idea. Obtaining his necessary signature can be a bit of a high-wire act, especially since any COVID-19 relief is likely to be added to a catchall spending bill.

“I think they are getting very close and I want it to happen,” Trump said.

At stake is whether to provide at least some COVID-19 aid now rather than wait until Biden takes office. Businesses, especially airlines, restaurants and health providers, are desperate for help as caseloads spiral and deaths spike. Money to help states distribute vaccines is needed, and supplemental pandemic unemployment aid that provides additional weeks of jobless benefits expires at the end of the month.

Biden is supporting an additional aid package that’s as large as possible now. He said Wednesday that an aid package developed by moderates “wouldn’t be the answer, but it would be the immediate help for a lot of things.” He wants a relief bill to pass Congress now, with more aid to come next year.

The $908 billion measure would establish a $300 per week jobless benefit, send $160 billion to help state and local governments, boost schools and universities, revive popular “paycheck protection” subsidies for businesses, and bail out transit systems and airlines. A second round of $1,200 stimulus checks, pushed by both Trump and Pelosi, are not expected to be included in the $908 billion.

The statement was a significant concession by Pelosi and Schumer, who played hardball this fall during failed pre-election discussions with the administration on a costlier bill. They wanted a more generous unemployment benefit and far more for state and local governments. Their embrace of the $908 billion measure was a retreat from a secret $1.3 trillion offer the two Democrats gave McConnell just on Monday.

The new plan includes a liability shield for businesses and other organizations that have reopened their doors during the pandemic. It’s the first time Pelosi and Schumer have shown a willingness to consider the idea, a top priority of McConnell, and Durbin’s involvement suggests a level of seriousness that had not been previously seen.

McConnell had dismissed the bipartisan offer on Tuesday, instead aiming to rally Republicans around the $550 billion GOP proposal. But McConnell himself endorsed a $1 trillion-or-so plan this summer, only to encounter resistance from conservatives that prompted him to retrench. He has acknowledged that another infusion of aid to states and local governments, a key Pelosi demand, probably will pass eventually.

“There is momentum,” Pelosi said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Winter storm warnings were issued for parts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine ahead of what’s expected to be a powerful nor’easter that will bring rain, wind and potentially lots of snow to New England this weekend.

The National Weather Service’s warning is in place for Middlesex and Worcester counties in Massachusetts from 7 a.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Sunday. Various warnings were issued for parts of New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine; varying in length but generally from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon.

The warnings refer to expected snow totals of at least 6 inches, and in some cases over a foot. See all active weather alerts in our area here.

TIMELINE: An Hour-by-Hour Look at This Weekend’s Nor’easter

The storm is coming together to our south, with rain turning to snow along with wind in the forecast Saturday, and into Sunday in Maine.

In the short-term, raindrops, not snowflakes, are in the forecast Friday evening and overnight, slowly expanding through Southern New England by Saturday morning. 

There are sources of uncertainty in the forecast, including the delicate merger of a northern and southern disturbance very close to New England that needs to happen just right for a big event in southern New England (but it looks like it should, and almost certainly will for Maine).

The marginal temperatures for snow start in the 40s and then drop through the 30s from midday to afternoon in central and eastern New England as the storm strengthens and pulls cooler air from northern and western New England. 

As long as the storm comes together as we’re thinking, the rain itself will be impactful Saturday morning, with over an inch falling through Saturday morning for big puddles and ponding of water on roadways. 

Of course, as rain changes to snow in the high terrain of central Massachusetts and across much of northern and western New England, roads will deteriorate, with standing water pounded by wet snow causing slush and icing on roads. Add snow accumulation on top of that and it will likely require plowing and treatment.

Farther east, the concern is not as long in hours, but may be intense for a short time Saturday afternoon. As the storm strengthens quickly in the east, a burst of heavy precipitation Saturday afternoon on the west side of the storm will move directly over eastern New England, sure to dump extremely heavy snow on much of Maine and eastern New Hampshire, and likely to produce at least a burst of a few hours of heavy snow Saturday mid-afternoon to evening in eastern Massachusetts (though not southeast Massachusetts), which would also cause road conditions to deteriorate quickly. 

If all comes together just right, that burst of snow will drop two to four inches per hour of snow from northeast Massachusetts all the way into Maine Saturday evening — and if were to come together sooner, that potential would extend to the South Shore. 

That’s why, even though our First Alert Team is acknowledging some uncertainty and the need to follow our updates, we’ve also been encouraging all residents as far south as the South Shore to put in the driveway stakes, prep the snowblower and plow and be ready for tough travel and road treatments. That way if the burst of snow makes it south through Plymouth County, all will be prepared. 

Winds will howl at the coast Saturday afternoon and evening, first gusting to 60 mph out of the south on Cape Cod if the storm center moves directly over the Cape, then swinging to blow from the north and northwest, gusting to 60 mph briefly at Cape Ann and gusting over 45 mph for many others.

The wind could prompt some power outages where the heavy snow falls and puts extra strain on power lines. 

The storm departs Saturday night, leaving a blustery but dry day Sunday except for lingering pockets of snow and snow showers in the North Country, where over a foot of snow will fall in Maine and New Hampshire.

They’ll get a natural boost to start the ski and snowmobile season while Vermont will see lighter snow amounts, but everyone is in for a chilly week next week, perfect for ski areas to blast snow guns and continue building on nature’s snow base, opening trails up quickly in the week ahead.