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American senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.

Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown

The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.

Trump's Proposal from Golf Course

As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.

"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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

Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.

"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.

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

Democratic Response

Opposition senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's plan.

"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."

Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."

Continuing Negotiations

The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in exchange for a later vote on the ACA payments.

One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.

Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.

"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Partisan Dynamics

None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.

Several analysts suggested that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.

After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to garner enough support in 2017.