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US senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.

Deepening Impact of Federal Closure

The impact on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.

Trump's Proposal from Golf Course

As Saturday's meeting got under way, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by health savings 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 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 comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

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

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and stood next to a large print 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 suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Democratic Response

Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.

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

Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."

Ongoing Negotiations

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

One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.

Another senior Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is 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 legislators need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Several analysts indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.

After his golf outing, 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 failed to garner enough support in 2017.