From showdown to shutdown, 2013 was the year US politicians chose to govern by crisis.
Now they are paying the price because congressional approval ratings are at all-time lows and, with mid-term elections due in 2014, the chances of an improvement may be unlikely.
Despite members of Congress collecting a salary of $174,000 a year, the most pressing domestic issues in 2013 went unaddressed, according to most political experts.
Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett reports from Washington DC.
