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American senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Deepening Impact of Federal Closure

The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.

President's Plan from Florida Resort

As weekend meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort 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 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.

GOP Support

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

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

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

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

Opposition Reaction

Democratic senators expressed concerned responses to Trump's plan.

"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' 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 defeated by voters and Congress."

Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."

Ongoing Talks

The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness 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 moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.

Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the future of the tax credits.

"Inaction is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "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 carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Some observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.

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