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US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure

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

President's Plan from Florida Resort

As weekend meeting got under way, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted 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 bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.

GOP Support

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

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

Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.

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

Opposition Reaction

Democratic senators shared concerned reactions 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 commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."

Another senator responded to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."

Ongoing Talks

The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in exchange for a later vote on the ACA payments.

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

Another leading Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Partisan Situation

Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.

Several observers indicated that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

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