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American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.

Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown

The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.

Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort

As Saturday's meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by health savings accounts.

"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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 Support

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

"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.

Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, and stood next to a large print 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 need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Opposition Response

Democratic lawmakers shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.

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

Another senator reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."

Ongoing Negotiations

The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.

One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.

Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Political Dynamics

None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Some analysts indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement 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 agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to secure enough support in 2017.