By 5 p.m. on Thursday, with 30 hours still to go before a deadline to fund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, most members of Congress had already cleared out of the Capitol, not scheduled to return for more than a week.

The department shut down overnight after Congress failed to reach an agreement on how to control the tactics of federal immigration officers after the killings of two people in Minneapolis.

If the bipartisan effort to restrain immigration agents falters, it would come just weeks after lawmakers pledged to find consensus on another topic capturing national attention, only for negotiations to fall apart. 

A month ago, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, told reporters that a bipartisan effort to restore lapsed health insurance subsidies was “in the red zone.” But in the end, there was no touchdown and the talks fizzled.

So Congress’ ability to act is again being tested, as public outcry pushed a number of Republicans and Democrats to pledge to do something to address the actions of immigration agents in Minneapolis.

But after initial optimism that lawmakers could find common ground, that rosiness quickly dissipated. Bipartisan negotiations are usually a high-wire act. But many lawmakers now see less incentive to compromise on fraught issues like immigration and health care, especially as the initial shock of a crisis fades.

Voters already see Congress as dysfunctional. Lawmakers promising and then failing to act certainly doesn’t do anything to boost public confidence in the institution. 

-- Sam Gringlas, NPR congressional reporter