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Happy Tuesday morning.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson looks like a lock for the Supreme Court, while a $10 billion Covid prep bill is still a big question mark. A pivotal week for President Joe Biden and Congress already has some surprising twists, and it’s only Tuesday.

Jackson picked up support from two more Senate Republicans – Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah – in a key procedural vote on Monday night. Murkowski and Romney joined Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in backing KBJ, giving Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer a cushion in the nomination battle. And it puts the 51-year-old Jackson on track to become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court when she’s confirmed later this week. The only real question now is whether it happens on Thursday or Friday.

The backing by Murkowkski and Romney – who voted against Jackson’s nomination to a key appeals court post last summer – brings the end in sight to a contentious, often ugly confirmation process that saw Republicans accuse Jackson of being “soft” on child pornographers and other criminals. Jackson denied the accusations adamantly, and they provoked howls of protests from Democrats, the White House and Jackson’s allies. Murkowski’s statement endorsing Jackson’s nomination acknowledged how sordid the Senate battles over these high-court seats has become, and why she feels it needs to stop:

Schumer is expected to file cloture on Jackson’s nomination this morning following a Senate procedural vote on Julia Ruth Gordon to be HUD’s assistant secretary.

Once Schumer does that, it will set up a vote to break the GOP filibuster on Thursday. Thanks to the backing from the GOP trio of Collins, Romney and Murkowski, cloture will be invoked at that time. Then there are up to 30 hours of debate allowed post-cloture, but Schumer is hoping the allure of the two-week Senate recess will lead to an agreement to speed up the process and give final approval to Jackson.

“This is a joyous and history-making moment for the Senate, a historic one: one hundred fifteen individuals have come before this chamber for consideration to the highest court in the land, but none – none – were like Judge Jackson,” Schumer said on the floor.

Which brings us to the other topic the Senate is wrestling with this week – the fate of the $10 billion Covid prep bill and whether Congress can pass it before leaving town. Right now, it seems like a tossup.

Romney – suddenly in the middle of everything – announced a bipartisan deal on the Covid package Monday afternoon. This came after days of behind-the-scenes talks involving Romney, Schumer, a host of other senators and Biden administration officials.

The cost of the new proposal is fully offset by recouping funds left over from 2021’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Half of the redirected funding goes to HHS for research, development and manufacturing of therapeutics, while another $750 million is set aside to study “emerging coronavirus variants.” Congressional committees are to be notified of any changes in funding obligations, with a plan for how to spend the money due in 30 days.

While there is bipartisan support for the Covid package, there’s also opposition from different factions within the Senate, especially among Republicans. Amendment fights over immigration – including reinstating the use of Title 42 to restrict asylum requests at the southern border – are likely. A number of Democrats are upset as well over the lack of money for a global vaccination program, although they’re unlikely to sink the Covid bill over this omission.

So whether the Senate can complete work on this package before the recess, and how that occurs with Democrats intently focused on pushing through Jackson’s nomination this week, is still unclear.

Schumer got consent on Monday to hold a cloture vote on a shell vehicle for the Covid package.This could serve as a “test vote” to determine whether there are 60 votes for the Covid package. However, Schumer won’t move forward with that test vote – if he even does – until after he’s filed cloture on Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune said GOP leaders will know more about the floor outlook after today’s party lunches. The No. 2 Republican broke down just how complicated voting on the Covid proposal could be:

Across the Capitol, a number of House Democrats are openly complaining over the lack of global vaccination money in the new package. These lawmakers argue that it’ll be impossible for the United States to move past the pandemic unless the rest of the world does too. And that means a global vaccination plan.

“I could not support a package without global COVID vaccination aid as we stand here right now,” Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) warned Monday night. “Folks need to be really cognizant that there are a lot of folks here that are very concerned about this issue.”

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, however, issued a statement in support of the Senate package late Monday night, and she urged immediate action on the legislation, which has been long sought by the White House.

The early indication from House Republican leadership is that their members aren’t terribly interested in supporting this package. So once again, Pelosi is going to have to squeeze a big bill through the House with very little room for error.

Also: Remember when election reform was a thing? The bipartisan Electoral Count Act group – led by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) – will meet at 5:15 p.m. today. The group has partnered with the American Law Institute to get input on how to reform the ECA.