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US senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown

The effect on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.

Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort

As Saturday's meeting got started, 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 HSA-style accounts.

"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the 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 welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.

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

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a large print 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 suggestion. "We must stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Opposition Reaction

Opposition lawmakers expressed concerned reactions to Trump's plan.

"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."

Another senator responded to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."

Ongoing Negotiations

The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.

One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.

Another senior Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.

"Inaction is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Partisan Dynamics

Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

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

After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to secure enough support in 2017.