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American senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure

The effect on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.

Trump's Plan from Florida Resort

As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by health savings accounts.

"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the 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.

Republican Endorsement

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

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

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, 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 reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Opposition Response

Opposition senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.

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

Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."

Ongoing Talks

The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.

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

Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Political Situation

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

Some analysts indicated that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.