gridlock

"This will worsen polarisation and gridlock in Congress. And the ripple effect of that will mean emboldening this president and future presidents to act unilaterally without Congress."

The gridlock led S&P to announce a surprise sovereign ratings downgrade on France last month.

They argue they passed a "clean CR" — a temporary funding bill — and blame the gridlock on Democrats wielding the "filibuster," the 60-vote threshold required to get legislation through the 100-member Senate.

With no end to the shutdown in sight, the gridlock is beginning to take a personal toll on lawmakers, who fly out of Washington most weekends to return to their home districts.

It dawned on Washington this week that the unforeseen consequence of the prolonged shutdown gridlock is going to be more gridlock.