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American lawmakers are meeting during 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 recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure

The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.

Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort

As weekend session got under way, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by health savings accounts.

"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the 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.

Republican Support

Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.

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

Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed 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 directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Democratic Reaction

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. "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 posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."

Continuing Negotiations

The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in return for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.

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

Another leading Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the tax credits.

"Inaction is irresponsible because people 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 does nothing."

Political Situation

Not one 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 backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.

Some observers indicated that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.