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American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.

Growing Consequences of Federal Closure

The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the federal 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 42 million Americans.

Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort

As weekend session got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style 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 wrote.

GOP Support

Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.

Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, and stood next to a giant blow-up 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 suggestion. "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 health care they want."

Opposition Response

Democratic senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.

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

Another senator responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."

Continuing Negotiations

The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.

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

Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens 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."

Political Dynamics

Not one 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 lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Some observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.