White House: Pelosi’s plan to reopen the government ‘a non-starter’

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders late Tuesday said that House Democrats’ plan to reopen the government was a “non-starter,” calling the proposal “the Pelosi plan” and saying that it “fails to secure the border and puts the needs of other countries above the needs of our own”

“President Trump made a serious, good faith offer to Democrats to open the government, address the crisis at our border, and protect all Americans,” Sanders said.

{mosads}”We have heard nothing back from the Democrats, who so far have refused to compromise. Speaker Designate Nancy Pelosi [(D-Calif.)] released a plan that will not re-open the government because it fails to secure the border and puts the needs of other countries above the needs of our own citizens,” she continued.

Sanders’s statement came on the eve of a briefing with top congressional leaders and Department of Homeland Security officials. President Trump, earlier in the day, invited leaders in both parties to the White House for a briefing on border security on Wednesday amid the ongoing partial shutdown.

“The Pelosi plan is a non-starter because it does not fund our homeland security or keep American families safe from human trafficking, drugs, and crime. The President has invited Republican and Democrat leaders in Congress to the White House for a border security briefing from senior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials on Wednesday, and he remains committed to reaching an agreement that both reopens the government and keeps Americans safe,” Sanders added.

The partial shutdown, already in its second week, began late last month after lawmakers were unable to come to an agreement on funding for border security.

The impasse was spurred largely by Trump’s demand for $5 billion for his proposed U.S.–Mexico border wall. Democrats have indicated they will not give in to the president’s demands, instead offering $1.3 billion for border security.

Trump lambasted Democrats on Twitter earlier Tuesday, criticizing their proposal to reopen the government and lamenting that the party’s funding bill lacked money for his desired wall along the southern border.

The president claimed the U.S. has no “real border security” without a wall, adding later that Democrats do not care about “open borders.” 

Incoming House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) on Monday introduced a continuing resolution that would fund DHS through Feb. 8, in addition to a legislative package to fund the remaining agencies through the end of the fiscal year.

Both measures are expected to be taken up on Thursday, when the next session of Congress is sworn in and Democrats reclaim the House majority.