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US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Growing Impact of Federal Closure

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

President's Plan from Golf Course

As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.

"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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 wrote.

GOP Endorsement

Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to 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 said.

Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.

"I'm writing 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 directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Opposition Reaction

Opposition senators expressed alarmed responses to Trump's plan.

"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."

Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."

Continuing Talks

The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.

Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.

"Inaction is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Political Situation

None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.

Some analysts indicated that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.

After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.