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American senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.

Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown

The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.

President's Plan from Florida Resort

As Saturday's session got under way, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by HSA-style 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 posted.

Republican Support

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

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

Another senator commended Trump's proposal 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 proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Democratic Reaction

Democratic senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's plan.

"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."

Another senator responded to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."

Ongoing Negotiations

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 terminate the shutdown in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.

Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Political Dynamics

None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Several observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.

After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.