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American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure

The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown 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.

Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort

As weekend session got started, Republican senators welcomed a proposal 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.

"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the 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 posted.

GOP Support

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

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

Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.

"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Opposition Response

Democratic senators shared concerned responses to Trump's plan.

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

Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? 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 signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the ACA payments.

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

Another senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Partisan Situation

None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients 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 idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Several observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.

After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.