WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and the partial government shutdown (all times local):

12:10 p.m.

The White House says rank-and-file House Democrats have declined President Donald Trump's invitation for a White House lunch as the administration tries to build support for funding the border wall with Mexico amid the government shutdown.

The rebuff Tuesday showed the limits of the White House's new strategy of trying to bypass Democratic leaders to peel off Democratic support for Trump's position.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said instead of a bipartisan lunch, nine House Republicans are confirmed to attend. She said the president "looks forward to having a working lunch with House Republicans to solve the border crisis and reopen the government."

Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave her blessing for Democrats to attend if they wished. The White House did not say how many Democrats were invited. Pelosi and her leadership team have met several times with Trump during the shutdown, now in its 25th day. Trump walked out of their most recent meeting.

___

9:55 a.m.

The White House has invited rank-and-file House Democrats to lunch with President Donald Trump, bypassing Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other party leaders as part of a strategy to peel off centrist and freshman lawmakers to support funding his U.S.-Mexico border wall.

An aide says Pelosi gave lawmakers her blessing to attend Tuesday, telling her leadership team that the group can see what she and others have been dealing with during the shutdown. The aide was not authorized to publicly discuss the private session and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Pelosi and her team have met several times with Trump during the shutdown, now in its 25th day. Trump walked out of their most recent meeting.

Capitol Hill aides say the lawmakers going to the White House include centrist Democrats from districts were Trump is popular, including freshmen.

___

By Lisa Mascaro.

___

12:10 a.m.

President Donald Trump says resolving the partial government shutdown is so simple that declaring a national emergency shouldn't be necessary and that he's not looking to do so.

While Trump edged away from the idea of going around Congress to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, he also declared Monday that he would "never back down" from pursuing it.

Democratic lawmakers also gave no indication they were backing off their opposition to funding the wall.

The White House has been considering reaching out to rank-and-file Democrats rather than dealing with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to try and chip away at Democratic opposition.

In the Senate, several senators from both parties met Monday to discuss ways to end the gridlock.