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American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.

Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown

The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.

President's Plan from Golf Course

As Saturday's session got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal 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.

"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 wrote.

GOP Support

Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

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

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed a giant blow-up 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 suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Democratic Reaction

Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned reactions to Trump's plan.

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

Another senator responded to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."

Continuing Talks

The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.

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

Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Political Situation

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

Some analysts suggested that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.

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