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American senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.

Growing Consequences of Federal Closure

The effect on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.

Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort

As weekend session got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by health savings accounts.

"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.

Republican Support

Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.

Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.

"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Opposition Reaction

Democratic senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.

"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."

Another senator responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."

Ongoing Negotiations

The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.

Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the future of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Partisan Dynamics

Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.

Several analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.

After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.