“Fresh from an election that emphatically punctuated voter dissatisfaction with a gridlocked Washington, lawmakers return Wednesday for a lame-duck session that will provide the first crucial test of whether Democrats and Republicans can cooperate or if the next Congress will be another study in dysfunction,” the New York Times reports.

“Lawmakers acknowledge that clearing a backlog of stalled legislation and executive branch nominees without the partisan animus that has permeated the 113th Congress could signal a chance at progress when Republicans take over the Senate in January and solidify the party’s grip on Capitol Hill. But a postelection session that breaks down in finger-pointing and recriminations over immigration policy and Internet regulation will foreshadow the likelihood of limited compromise ahead.”