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American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.

Growing Impact of Government Shutdown

The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.

Trump's Plan from Golf Course

As weekend meeting got under way, GOP 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 replaced by health savings accounts.

"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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

Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.

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

Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, 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 posted in response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Opposition Reaction

Opposition lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's plan.

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

Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."

Continuing Negotiations

The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled 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 negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.

Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the future of the subsidies.

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

Political Dynamics

None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.

Some observers suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.