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US senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.

Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown

The effect on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.

President's Proposal from Florida Resort

As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments 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 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 comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.

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

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed 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 suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Opposition Response

Democratic senators expressed alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.

"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."

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

Continuing Negotiations

The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in return for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.

One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.

Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.

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

Partisan Dynamics

None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Several observers suggested that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.

After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.