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US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure

The effect on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.

Trump's Proposal from Golf Course

As Saturday's meeting got started, GOP 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 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 wrote.

Republican Support

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

"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.

Another senator commended 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 response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Opposition Response

Democratic senators expressed alarmed responses to Trump's plan.

"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical 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 reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."

Ongoing Negotiations

The Senate adjourned without reaching 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 return for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.

One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.

Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.

"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Political Situation

Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Some observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.