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US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown

The effect on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were forced 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 session got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort 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

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

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

Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.

"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Democratic Response

Democratic lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.

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

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

Continuing Talks

The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in return for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.

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

Another senior Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Partisan Dynamics

Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Several analysts indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.