Deadlock in Congress Appears to Worsen as Midterms Loom

With immigration legislation dead for the year, Congress has a very short must-do list as relations between the two parties, already miserable, seem to be getting worse in the buildup to the midterm elections.

The effort to revive the appropriations process is teetering. House Republicans are preparing a lawsuit challenging the power of the president, who denounces that move as a stunt. A special Republican-created House panel on the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, will hold hearings this fall. The positions of both parties are hardening.

As a result, minimal expectations for achievement in the final months of the 113th Congress — and at the midpoint of President Obama’s second term — are sinking lower, if that is possible.

More From CNBC: