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US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure

The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.

Trump's Proposal from Golf Course

As weekend meeting got under way, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by health savings accounts.

"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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 posted.

Republican Support

Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

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

Another senator commended Trump's suggestion 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 reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Democratic Response

Opposition senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's plan.

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

Another senator reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."

Continuing Negotiations

The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in exchange for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.

Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term 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 floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Partisan Dynamics

None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.

Several analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

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 repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.