WASHINGTON — The second-ranking Senate Republican declared Saturday that the work of a special Congressional committee on deficit reduction was all but over, and said efforts to strike a bipartisan deal had been worthy but unavailing.

As he emerged from his office in the Capitol, the Republican, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, a committee member, spoke of the panel in the past tense, using sober words to describe a seemingly unsuccessful 10-week quest for a compromise. Asked to describe the focus of a possible compromise, Mr. Kyl said, “I’m not sure there is one.”

But he did not completely close the door, saying that any announcement about the conclusion of the committee’s work would come from its two leaders: Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, and Representative Jeb Hensarling, Republican of Texas.

“A lot of things were sent to C.B.O.,” Mr. Kyl said, a reference to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which is supposed to analyze any package by Monday. He said it was “pretty doubtful” those proposals could turn into a deal, but added, “obviously nobody wants to quit until the stroke of midnight.”