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American 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 impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.

Growing Impact of Government Shutdown

The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.

Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort

As Saturday's meeting got started, GOP senators embraced a proposal 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 profit-driven 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 Endorsement

Multiple Republican senators welcomed 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 consumer," one senator stated.

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion 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 wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Democratic Reaction

Opposition lawmakers expressed concerned responses to Trump's proposal.

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

Another senator reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."

Ongoing Talks

The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.

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

Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.

"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Partisan Situation

None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to reopen 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 essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.