WASHINGTON — House Democrats prepared Thursday to pass a plan to reopen the government without funding President Donald Trump’s promised border wall, after Trump made a surprise appearance pledging to keep up the fight for his signature campaign promise.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump and Senate Republicans should “take yes for an answer” and approve a bill — without funds for the wall — that the Senate approved on a voice vote last month.

“We’re not doing a wall. Does anyone have any doubt that we’re not doing a wall?” Pelosi told reporters at a news conference Thursday night in which she again called the proposed border wall with Mexico immoral.

Pelosi, who was elected speaker earlier Thursday, also took a shot a Trump, calling his proposal “a wall between reality and his constituents.”

Trump strode into the White House briefing room Thursday — the 13th day of the partial government shutdown — and declared that “without a wall you cannot have border security.” He then left without taking questions from reporters.

The appearance came hours after the new Congress convened, with Democrats taking majority control of the House and returning Pelosi to the speakership after eight years of GOP control. Democrats expected to quickly pass legislation to reopen the government without funding the wall, but it is going nowhere in the Senate, where Republicans want Trump’s endorsement before voting on a funding package.

Trump is demanding billions of dollars to build his wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, which the Democrats have refused.

Congressional leaders from both parties met with Trump at the White House Wednesday, but failed to make progress during their first sit-down in weeks. The White House has invited the leaders back Friday for another round of talks that officials have suggested might be more successful now that Pelosi has been sworn in.

Reporters were told Thursday that White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders would hold a hastily called briefing. Instead, out walked Trump, flanked by members of the unions that represent border patrol and immigration enforcement agents. It was his first time delivering remarks at the briefing room podium.

“You can call it a barrier, you can call it whatever you want,” Trump said. “But essentially we need protection in our country. We’re going to make it good. The people of our country want it.”

Trump said his meeting with the union officials had long been planned and just happened to come at “a very opportune time.” He also claimed his refusal to budge was winning praise, telling reporters, “I have never had so much support as I have in the last week over my stance for border security.”

White House and Department of Homeland Security officials have spent recent days trying to make a public and private case that the situation at the border has reached a “crisis” situation.

Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted an ominous video with images of what appeared to be migrants trying to rush the border and clashing with law enforcement, beneath the words “crisis at the border,” “drugs” and “crime.” The video concludes with footage of Trump at the border along with audio from one of his rallies in which he vows to build his promised border wall.