For all the latest developments in Congress, follow WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller at Today on the Hill. 
The partial government shutdown is now in its fourth day, but Congress is not in session and lawmakers are not scheduled to return until next Monday.
Even before the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security began just after midnight on Saturday, House and Senate leaders decided to send lawmakers home last Thursday.
There has been a lot of finger pointing between Democrats and Republicans, but little substantive negotiating.
The White House and Democrats continue to say low-level talks are continuing, but it looks like this DHS shutdown will last at least through the week.
Democrats are insisting that reforms to Immigration Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection be implemented if DHS funding is to be approved.
They ratcheted up their demands in the wake of the deadly shootings of two people in Minneapolis in the middle of increased federal immigration enforcement.
“We’re ready to sit down with anyone at anytime, anyplace if they are serious about the types of dramatic reforms that are necessary to get ICE under control,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who was one of the few lawmakers remaining at the U.S. Capitol on Friday.
He chided House Speaker Mike Johnson for letting lawmakers leave Washington for their districts, noting that the House wasn’t in session for 43 days last year during the longest government shutdown in history.
Why no big push to end the DHS shutdown?
The threats of government shutdowns in the past often led to around-the-clock negotiations to keep the government running.
When shutdowns took place, they were often quickly resolved, as Democrats and Republicans agreed to compromise.
That urgency appears lost, especially in the three most recent shutdowns that have taken place since last fall.
There was clearly no urgency after the Oct. 1 government shutdown began, since it lasted longer than any other before it.
Even when lawmakers managed to end the partial government shutdown before this one, they only approved a two-week continuing resolution for DHS.
A big reason that lawmakers have remained out of town with no urgent call to return is because ICE and CBP both have plenty of funding, due to passage last year of the president’s “One “Big Beautiful Bill.”
The legislation included $75 billion for ICE, an agency that in the past received about $10 billion annually. CBP received $64 billion.
So the agencies that Democrats are targeting for reforms — such as a ban on wearing masks and expanded use of body cameras — have plenty of money and aren’t really impacted by the current shutdown.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer noted on Monday that the ICE and CBP funds extend through 2029.
“All the Democrats are doing right now is trying to shut down TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard,” Emmer said on “CBS Mornings.”
What could end the shutdown?
As with some past shutdowns, many believe issues related to the Transportation Security Administration and air travel could be the impetus for ending the current DHS shutdown if an agreement can’t be reached on immigration enforcement reforms.
During last year’s shutdown, unpaid TSA workers started calling in sick and delays started to mount at the nation’s airports.
TSA workers recently got paid, so their next missed paycheck would be at the end of the month.
Also getting attention is next Tuesday’s scheduled State of the Union address. Some lawmakers believe that could spur more serious DHS negotiations.
But Congress isn’t scheduled to return until a day ahead of the president’s address.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson have held out the possibility of calling lawmakers back early if a deal is reached.
But right now, that seems highly unlikely.
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