A coronavirus deal may be nearly here at last – but can it get past Bernie Sanders?

After a wild Tuesday punctuated by high-level negotiations on Capitol Hill, Washington went eerily quiet on Wednesday.

If past is prologue, that means congressional leaders likely are close to a massive deal on a government-wide spending bill to fund the federal government through 30 September and a package to provide additional Covid-19 relief to struggling Americans.

When things are noisy, the negotiators are not at the table talking. They’re at the microphones talking, trying to deflect blame for talks that have stalled or died on the table.

But when things go relatively quiet, those principals are worried their public words – any perceived criticism of the other side, any demand different than what they just said in the room – might blow the whole thing up.

No-one involved seems to be in a hurry, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly informing Republican senators to brace for two words they don’t hear very often: weekend votes.

The precise details of the emerging Covid-19 package remain under wraps, although aides suggest it will closely resemble what a bipartisan group of mostly Senate Republicans and Democrats put forward earlier this week – albeit with a few key add-ons, including direct stimulus checks for American families.

Some senators with knowledge of the talks on Wednesday said negotiators are discussing payments in the range of $600 or $700. But will that be enough to satisfy Senator Bernie Sanders?

The progressive icon and former presidential candidate last week held up a stopgap spending measure because Congress was not planning to send a new batch of checks this year, and he said last Friday he would block the entire year-end package unless it included monies for stimulus payments.

But now Mr Sanders, like everyone else involved, is keeping his cards close to his chest. “I think it should be $1200 … and 600 bucks for their kids,” he told CNN. “But we’re making progress.”

That last phrase is the one that pays – “making progress.” When negotiators stop using it, the odds of success go down – and the chances of a holiday season government shutdown increase.