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US senators 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 proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure

The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.

Trump's Plan from Golf Course

As Saturday's meeting got started, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by HSA-style accounts.

"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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 posted.

Republican Endorsement

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

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

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

"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Opposition Response

Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned reactions 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 commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."

Another senator reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."

Ongoing Talks

The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and continue 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 tax credits.

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

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 legislators need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Several analysts suggested that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to secure enough support in 2017.