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American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.

Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown

The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.

President's Plan from Golf Course

As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.

"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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 posted.

GOP Endorsement

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

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

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

Opposition Reaction

Opposition senators shared concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.

"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' 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 responded to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."

Ongoing Talks

The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.

Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's 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 coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.

Some analysts suggested that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.

After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.