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 slow-boil crisis worsens. But so far, there’s no sign of a breakthrough, nor any serious talks between rival lawmakers on Capitol Hill to open the government.

Senate Democrats are refusing to vote for a short-term bill to fund the government until Republicans extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that are due to expire at the end of the year and agree to roll back President Donald Trump’s Medicaid cuts.

Republicans are willing to talk about extending the subsidies, since GOP members are also facing concern among their voters about Obamacare premiums that are set to skyrocket. But they say the government must reopen first.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, left, and House Speaker Mike Johnson d