A sign declares the National Archive is closed due to a partial federal government shutdown in Washington, U.S., December 22, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate has ended a short legislative day on Saturday and will hold its next legislative session on Thursday, as negotiators continued to search for a way to end the partial government shutdown that began just after midnight.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate would meet in a “pro forma” session on Monday. Those sessions can last for just minutes before adjourning. As McConnell was closing the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence told reporters that negotiators were “still talking.”