Lawmakers are returning to the Capitol on Saturday in the hopes of finding a deal to end the partial government shutdown that began at midnight, but major differences remain over funding for President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE's border wall.

The Senate and House convened at noon Saturday, but votes on a deal to reopen federal agencies next week may not happen until Sunday or later, guaranteeing that large swaths of the federal government will remain closed for at least a day.

White House officials and congressional leaders are expected to negotiate throughout the day Saturday after failing to reach a deal Friday night. Both chambers adjourned and lawmakers left the Capitol hours before the midnight deadline to avert a funding lapse.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellFEC flags McConnell campaign over suspected accounting errors Poll: 59 percent think president elected in November should name next Supreme Court justice Mark Kelly: Arizona Senate race winner should be sworn in 'promptly' MORE (R-Ky.) announced on the Senate floor on Saturday that the talks would take place primarily between Trump and his team and Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer Chuck SchumerCruz blocks amended resolution honoring Ginsburg over language about her dying wish Senate Democrats introduce legislation to probe politicization of pandemic response Schumer interrupted during live briefing by heckler: 'Stop lying to the people' MORE (N.Y.).

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“We pushed the pause button until the president, from whom we will need a signature, and Senate Democrats, from whom we will need votes, reach an agreement,” he said.

Senate leaders reached a procedural deal Friday to hold off from political messaging votes on re-opening the government until all sides reach a deal.

McConnell said he hoped an agreement would come in time to reopen federal agencies before Christmas.

“It’s my hope that it’s reached sooner rather than later,” he said.

Schumer, however, speaking on the floor shortly after McConnell insisted that the Senate GOP leader and House Republican leaders would also have to be at the center of the talks.

“In order for an agreement to be reached, all four congressional leaders must sign off and the president must endorse it and say that he will sign it,” Schumer said, adding that GOP leaders “cannot duck responsibility.”

“Leader McConnell can’t duck out of this process. He knows that,” Schumer added. “And most importantly the president must publicly support and say he’ll sign an agreement before it gets a vote in either chamber.”

The House convened briefly at noon and then immediately recessed subject to the call of the chair. No votes are expected in the lower chamber Saturday.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthyMcCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment Kate Schroder in Ohio among Democratic challengers squelching GOP hopes for the House McCarthy's Democratic challenger to launch first TV ad highlighting Air Force service as single mother MORE (R-Calif.) told colleagues Friday evening that he would give them “ample” time to review an announced deal before holding a vote. Majority Whip Steve Scalise Stephen (Steve) Joseph ScaliseHouse GOP slated to unveil agenda ahead of election House panel details 'serious' concerns around Florida, Georgia, Texas, Wisconsin elections Scalise hit with ethics complaint over doctored Barkan video MORE’s (R-La.) office also told members they would get 24-hours notice before a vote.

Senate Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions Peter Anderson SessionsThe Hill's Campaign Report: New polls show Biden leading by landslide margins The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Argentum - In Rose Garden, Trump launches anti-Biden screed Pete Sessions wins GOP runoff in comeback bid MORE (R-Texas), however, told reporters Saturday morning that any deal would likely be approved on the floor without a roll-call vote.

“They’re not gonna pull people back,” Sessions told a small group of reporters as he wheeled his luggage through the Capitol en route to the airport.

The shutdown, which technically began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, affects about 25 percent of the federal government, including the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, State, Transportation and Treasury, among others.

An estimated 380,000 federal employees will be furloughed during the shutdown while an estimated 420,000 employees will be required to work without pay, including Transportation Security Administration officials who are essential to keeping airports operating during the busy holiday travel season.

The Office of Management and Budget issued a memo Friday ordering agencies to “execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations.”

Trump has sent mixed signals over how long the shutdown may last.

The president warned Friday morning that it “will last for a very long time” but in a later video message released as it became clear a shutdown would happen the president said “the shutdown hopefully will not last long.”

Many lawmakers from the East Coast have gone home for the weekend to districts in New York, Pennsylvania and Florida. Other lawmakers said they would traveling home Saturday morning after seeing no movement overnight.

Both sides have traded blame for the shutdown.

Trump tweeted on Friday that “Democrats now own the shutdown” and in his video message said “it’s really up to the Democrats because we need their votes.”

He also announced he is hosting a lunch at the White House residence with a “large group concerning Border Security,” a sign that the president plans to hammer Democrats a while on the issue before signing off on a funding bill.

Schumer and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiHoyer: House should vote on COVID-19 aid — with or without a bipartisan deal Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose at Supreme Court McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE (Calif.) issued a statement just after midnight declaring, “regrettably, America has now entered a Trump shutdown.”

"President Trump has said more than 25 times that he wanted a shutdown and now he has gotten what he wanted," they said.

Senate Republicans, who are eager to quickly end the standoff and get out of town, are pushing a deal that would provide $1.6 billion in funding for border fencing — an amount that Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee agreed to earlier this year — but they have dropped a proposal to give Trump an additional $1 billion in funding for immigration-related matters.

A Republican senator familiar with the latest round of offers to Democrats say their latest would provide $1.6 billion for border fencing “and other things” but drop the catch-all spending account that Schumer has panned as a “slush fund.”

Schumer endorsed the $1.6 billion funding level for border fencing immediately after Thanksgiving but later backed off the number after coming under pressure from House Democrats. He told reporters last week that “the $1.6 [billion] we believe could not pass the House."

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton HoyerOVERNIGHT ENERGY: California seeks to sell only electric cars by 2035 | EPA threatens to close New York City office after Trump threats to 'anarchist' cities | House energy package sparks criticism from left and right House energy package sparks criticism from left and right Hoyer: House should vote on COVID-19 aid — with or without a bipartisan deal MORE (Md.) on Saturday said a deal could hinge on whether extra funding is designated for border fencing or more generally for border security.

“It ought to be pretty clear to the president that he doesn’t have the votes for a wall, he does have votes for strengthening border security through technological means, personnel means, in another number of ways. And that’s not going to change between now and whenever,” Hoyer told Fox News.

“It would I think be in the best interest of the country and I think the best interest of the president and Congress if we come to agreement in the next 24, 48 hours,” he added.

Recognizing the possibility of a deal may hinge on semantics, Trump has started to shift his language away from imagery of a solid wall, which Democrats say is a non-starter, to the concept of “steel slats.”

Trump on Friday tweeted an illustration of a “Steel Slat Barrier” that he touted as “totally effective while at the same time beautiful.”

Schumer on Saturday called on Trump to altogether drop his demand for a border wall.

“President Trump, if you want to open the government, you must abandon the wall, plain and simple. The Senate’s not interested in swindling American taxpayers for an unnecessary, ineffective and wasteful policy,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.

“What we do support, Democrats and Republicans, is real effective border security but not a wall. The wall is President Trump’s bone to the hard right,” he added.

Schumer said Democrats “are also open to discussing any proposals with the president as long as they don’t include funding for the wall.”

Trump’s negotiating team — Vice President Pence, incoming White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney Mick MulvaneyOn The Money: House panel pulls Powell into partisan battles | New York considers hiking taxes on the rich | Treasury: Trump's payroll tax deferral won't hurt Social Security Blockchain trade group names Mick Mulvaney to board Mick Mulvaney to start hedge fund MORE and White House adviser Jared Kushner Jared Corey KushnerAbraham Accords: New hope for peace in Middle East Tenants in Kushner building file lawsuit alleging dangerous living conditions Trump hosts Israel, UAE, Bahrain for historic signing MORE — spent Friday afternoon shuttling between the offices of Schumer and outgoing Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 At indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates MORE (R-Wis.) to lay the groundwork of an agreement.

There’s skepticism that House conservatives would embrace $1.6 billion for border fencing as an acceptable compromise, but some GOP lawmakers are eager for any marginal improvement to the $1.3 billion 2018 funding level for border fencing that would end the shutdown.

The talks have been complicated by uncertainty over what Trump, who has zigzagged in the past week, would be willing to sign into law.

“The biggest problem is we just don’t know what the president will sign,” said Sen. Jeff Flake Jeffrey (Jeff) Lane FlakeHow fast population growth made Arizona a swing state Jeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Republican former Michigan governor says he's voting for Biden MORE (R-Ariz.), who on Friday helped broker a procedural deal mandating that the next government funding proposal considered on the Senate floor will have prior signoff from Trump, Senate Republican and Democratic leaders, and the House GOP leadership.

GOP lawmakers recognize they’ll have less leverage when Democrats take control of the House majority in January.

“In my business, something’s better than nothing,” Rep. Roger Williams John (Roger) Roger WilliamsThe Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Yoho apologizes for accosting AOC Ocasio-Cortez accosted by GOP lawmaker over remarks: 'That kind of confrontation hasn't ever happened to me' Cook shifts 20 House districts toward Democrats MORE (R-Texas) said when asked about accepting a border fencing funding number well under the $5.7 billion provided by the House Thursday.

— Mike Lillis, Scott Wong and Melanie Zanona contributed.

Updated: 1:22 p.m.