An exchange between Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and a group of schoolchildren petitioning her to advocate for the “Green New Deal” went viral.

About 15 middle- and high school students in the San Francisco Bay area met with Feinstein on Friday, asking whether she would vote for the ambitious climate change proposal. An edited video of their meeting was shared on social media by the Sunrise Movement, a self-described “army of young people” striving to elect leadership who will address the urgent nature of climate change, according to their website.

The Sunrise Movement later said they found Feinstein’s tone toward the young children to be callous.

“But we have come to a point where our Earth is dying, and it is literally a pricey and ambitious plan that is needed to deal with the magnitude of that issue,” a 16-year-old student said. “So we’re asking you to vote ‘yes’ on the resolution for the Green New Deal because –”

The senator interrupted: “That resolution will not pass the Senate. And you can take that back to whoever sent you here.” She added, “I’ve been in the Senate for a quarter of a century, and I know what can pass, and I know what can’t pass.”

Feinstein noted how the plan lacks support from Republicans, who control the Senate.

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