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US senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure

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

President's Proposal from Golf Course

As weekend session got started, 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 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 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 welcomed the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

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

Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, 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 wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Opposition Response

Opposition lawmakers shared alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.

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

Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."

Continuing Negotiations

The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.

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

Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens 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

None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support 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 suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.