L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti met with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson on Friday, ending with encouraging words, but no deal to help the city’s massive homeless population.

The lack of an announcement comes after months of negotiations and increasingly conciliatory language between the two political camps.

Garcetti, who was in Washington to attend the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ annual meeting, had built up anticipation for an announcement while speaking with reporters on Thursday, saying he hoped to reach an agreement in principle, even if it would take time to fill in the details.

The mayor has spoken with Carson several times. His aides spent the week in Washington, hammering out potential agreements to use federal land and money to build temporary shelters.

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