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.

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 ...