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US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.

Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown

The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.

President's Plan from Florida Resort

As Saturday's meeting got under way, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted 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 ineffective 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 plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.

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

Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and stood next to a giant blow-up 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 proposal. "We must stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Opposition Reaction

Opposition senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.

"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."

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

Continuing Negotiations

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

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

Another senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Partisan Dynamics

Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Several analysts indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.