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US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.

Growing Consequences of Federal Closure

The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.

President's Plan from Golf Course

As weekend meeting got under way, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings accounts.

"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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 Endorsement

Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.

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

Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, 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 response to Trump's proposal. "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 health care they want."

Opposition Reaction

Democratic senators expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.

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

Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."

Ongoing Talks

The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.

One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.

Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's 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 restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Several analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.

After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.