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American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure

The effect on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.

Trump's Plan from Golf Course

As weekend meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style 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 wrote.

Republican Endorsement

Several Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.

"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.

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

"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Opposition Reaction

Democratic senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.

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

Another senator reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."

Ongoing Talks

The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.

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

"Inaction is derelict because people 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 Situation

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 lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Some observers indicated that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.

After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.