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

Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure

The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.

President's Proposal from Golf Course

As weekend session got started, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies 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 ineffective Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.

Republican Support

Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

"We will replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.

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

"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Democratic Reaction

Opposition senators shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.

"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."

Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."

Ongoing Talks

The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in return for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.

One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.

Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the tax credits.

"Inaction is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated 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 patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.

Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.

After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.