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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 expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.

Deepening Impact of Federal Closure

The effect on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.

President's Plan from Golf Course

As Saturday's session got under way, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by health savings accounts.

"I am recommending 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 wrote.

Republican Endorsement

Several Republican senators praised the plan, 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 patient," one senator said.

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.

"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Opposition Reaction

Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.

"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."

Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."

Ongoing Talks

The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an developing proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart 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 payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.

"Inaction is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Partisan Dynamics

None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers 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 idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Some analysts suggested that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.