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US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.

Growing Consequences of Federal Closure

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

Trump's Plan from Golf Course

As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion 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.

"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 bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.

GOP Support

Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, 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 consumer," one senator said.

Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, and stood next to a large print 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 must 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 Response

Opposition senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.

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

Another senator responded to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Well, 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 finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in exchange for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.

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

Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people 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 does nothing."

Political Dynamics

Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.

Several observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals 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 plan that failed to garner enough support in 2017.