The battle over nominations is spelling trouble for the Senate in other areas, as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle feel the pressure to ratchet up the partisanship in an extended tit-for-tat with no obvious off-ramp in sight.

The Senate on Saturday night adjourned until next month after protracted talks to expedite the confirmation of dozens of President Trump’s lower-level nominees in the face of Democratic resistance went belly up. This left Republicans fuming and increasingly likely to “go nuclear” in changing the chamber’s rules to quicken the confirmation process.

At the same time, Democrats are under pressure to oppose Trump at every turn, with the confirmation process and the looming government funding fight being the most immediate examples.

It’s all leading much of Washingt

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