A Senate plan to take up a major appropriations package on the floor the week of Nov. 17 is looking increasingly like a long shot.

Republicans in the Indiana state Senate will not move forward with a plan to redraw the state’s congressional map next month.

Asked to give Congress a grade for its recent performance, members see room for improvement. “Is there a grade below ‘F’?” one asked.

The longest government shutdown in history came to an end, and Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., was finally sworn in.

Just as important, the deal broke the stranglehold that “party unity” has over leaders, members and media at the Capitol, one that has turned Congress into a failed and dysfunctional institution ...