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American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.

Growing Impact of Government Shutdown

The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.

President's Proposal from Florida Resort

As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by health savings accounts.

"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the 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 posted.

GOP Endorsement

Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.

Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, 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 need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Democratic Response

Democratic lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's plan.

"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical 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 reacted to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."

Ongoing Talks

The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.

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

Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future 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 floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Partisan Dynamics

None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Some observers suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

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