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US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown

The effect on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, 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, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by health savings accounts.

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

GOP Endorsement

Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.

"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.

Another senator commended Trump's proposal 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 wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Democratic Reaction

Opposition senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's plan.

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

Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."

Continuing Talks

The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.

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

Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the tax credits.

"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Partisan Dynamics

Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.

Some analysts indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.