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American senators are meeting during 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 diminish as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Growing Consequences of Federal Closure

The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.

Trump's Plan from Golf Course

As weekend meeting got under way, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on social media 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 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 Support

Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.

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

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.

"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Democratic Reaction

Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.

"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."

Another senator responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I welcome 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 handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.

One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.

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

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Partisan Situation

None 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 eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Several analysts suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.

After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to secure enough support in 2017.