House Democrats ready plan to end partial gov't shutdown: reports

WASHINGTON-- House Democrats have reportedly prepared a plan to end the ongoing partial shutdown of the US federal government, without funding for President Donald Trump's border wall.

The lower chamber is planning to pass a stopgap spending bill Thursday when the new Congress convenes to fund the Department of Homeland Security at current levels through Feb 8, with $1.3 billion for border fencing and other security measures, reported several news outlets on Monday, citing congressional sources.

The package will reportedly also include six other bipartisan bills to fund an array of federal agencies that have been closed since Dec 22, including the departments of Agriculture, Interior, Housing and Urban Development.

The Republican-controlled Senate passed similar legislation earlier this month, but Trump strongly rejected it. It's unclear how the upper chamber would respond to the reported Democratic proposal.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told The Washington Post Monday that "the Senate is not going to send something to the president that he won't sign."

Trump tweeted Monday that he's waiting for Democrats to give votes "necessary for Border Security, including the Wall."

About a quarter of the federal government shut down earlier this month as a result of an impasse between the White House and the Congress over whether to provide billions of dollars for Trump's border wall, a promise he made during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump and his conservative allies have insisted that the border wall is essential to addressing illegal immigration and drug trafficking, while Democrats have slapped the proposal as an "inefficient, unnecessary and costly" solution to strengthening border security.

Both sides have tried to pin blame on the other since the shutdown, while there has been little contact between the White House and congressional Democrats for more than a week.