White House press secretary Sarah Sanders disputed assertions that President Donald Trump is not being clear about what he wants in a deal to reopen the government.
"The president's been very clear … on exactly what he wants," Sanders told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America."
"He wants to make a deal on DACA. The fact that Democrats are trying to pretend as if that is something that we haven't put on the table is just disingenuous and frankly it's a bit ridiculous."
Sanders emphasized, however, that "first and foremost, we have to reopen our government. We have to fund our government. As soon as that is done, we're more than happy to negotiate on responsible immigration reform."
However, in addition to Democrats complaining that Trump has been unclear and inconsistent about what he wants in a deal, several prominent Republicans also have voiced the same sentiment.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham told CNN that the White House is not a reliable partner to negotiate with, explaining that every time we have a proposal, it is only yanked back by staff members. As long as [White House senior policy adviser] Stephen Miller is in charge of negotiating immigration, we're going nowhere. He's been an outlier for years."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnnell made similar comments regarding attempts to reach a deal on immigration issues.
"I'm looking for something that President Trump supports. And he's not yet indicated what measure he's willing to sign," McConnell told reporters last week according to CNBC.
"As soon as we figure out what he is for, then I would be convinced that we were not just spinning our wheels going to this issue on the floor, but actually dealing with a bill that has a chance to become law and therefore solve the problem."
Sanders pushed back at the criticism, saying that congressional leadership is apparently "not paying attention, [because] the president has laid out what his priorities are and what his principles are."
The White House press secretary also rejected criticism that Trump has not been involved in the negotiations, because he did not participate in any meetings over the weekend with congressional leaders to end the shutdown.
"The president has been engaged," Sanders said. "I think that different circumstances call for a different type of leadership. He's been incredibly engaged. He's spent a lot of time on the phone . . . and has had a lot of meetings internally with staff here in the White House. They have been going back and forth with negotiations."