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American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.

Growing Consequences of Federal Closure

The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.

President's Plan from Golf Course

As Saturday's session got started, 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 substituted 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 posted.

Republican Endorsement

Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.

Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, and stood next to 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 insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Democratic Response

Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned responses to Trump's plan.

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

Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."

Ongoing Talks

The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in return 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 turned down an offer to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.

Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the future of the subsidies.

"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Partisan 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 backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Several analysts suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to secure enough support in 2017.