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American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure

The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.

Trump's Plan from Golf Course

As weekend meeting got under way, GOP 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 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 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

Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.

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

Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed 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 reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Opposition Reaction

Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.

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

Another senator responded to the censure of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."

Ongoing Negotiations

The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.

Another leading Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the future of the subsidies.

"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Political Dynamics

None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.

Several analysts suggested that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.