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American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure

The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.

President's Proposal from Florida Resort

As Saturday's session got under way, GOP 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 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

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

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

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, 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 must 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 lawmakers expressed alarmed responses to Trump's plan.

"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."

Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome 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 closure in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.

One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.

Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Partisan Dynamics

None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.

Some observers suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.

After his resort visit, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.