A resolution to the government shutdown seems further away than ever

The Capitol is seen on the ninth day of the government shutdown in Washington, DC, on Thursday. Allison Robbert/AP

The pain is deepening. But Republicans and Democrats are only becoming angrier and more estranged over a government shutdown with no end in sight.

The impasse is heading toward a third week, with hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed, the Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo closed , and the nation’s air traffic control system becoming strained. An already acrimonious political duel took a nasty turn Friday night when the administration fired hundreds of bureaucrats to punish Democrats, although some dismissals at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were hurriedly canceled .

Repercussions of the shutdown are getting more serious as a