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American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown

The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.

Trump's Plan from Florida Resort

As Saturday's session got under way, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on social media 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 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 wrote.

Republican Endorsement

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

"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.

Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed 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 reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Democratic Response

Democratic senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's plan.

"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."

Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."

Ongoing Talks

The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.

Another senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Partisan Dynamics

Not one 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 lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

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

After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.