A plan to retaliate against the political foes of the president by busing illegal immigrants to 'sanctuary cities' was leaked by whistleblowers on Thursday, and Democrats are outraged.

"The extent of this administration's cynicism and cruelty cannot be overstated," said Ashley Etienne, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

"Using human beings — including little children — as pawns in their warped game to perpetuate fear and demonize immigrants is despicable," she concluded.

Pelosi was identified as one of the targets of the unimplemented plan.

The plan was revealed in the Washington Post, which relied on anonymous sources in the administration, but it was confirmed by a statement from the White House.

"This was just a suggestion that was floated and rejected, which ended any further discussion," the White House responded in a statement.

The report says administration officials pressured the Department of Homeland Security to implement the plan twice in order to pressure political enemies of President Donald Trump, but they resisted.

The legal department of ICE also reportedly rejected the plan in February when the administration floated it again.

In addition to San Francisco, Chicago and New York were also considered as targets of the plan.

Here's more on sanctuary cities in the U.S.: