Democrats encouraged to ‘hold the line’ in talks with Republicans as shutdown enters 37th day

Lawmakers continue talks and could be coming closer to a deal to end the longest US government shutdown in history

The longest government shutdown in history is now in its 37th day, though lawmakers, currently in talks, could be coming closer to a deal to end the standoff.

Some Democratic lawmakers, though, saw Tuesday's big electoral wins as evidence they should hold the line and extract as much as possible from Republicans, most critically extending health insurance subsidies that, without intervention, will drastically increase costs for millions of Americans.