A San Francisco supervisors' committee on Thursday effectively shot down a resolution concerning Mayor London Breed's announced plan to bring Chinese pandas to the San Francisco Zoo.

The SF Board of Supervisors' Government Audit and Oversight Committee had on its agenda Thursday an item concerning the mayor's panda plan, and they voted to postpone discussion of it to a later date.

Mayor London Breed has introduced a resolution that would allow various city departments to solicit donations — what are called "behested payments" — for the estimated $25 million panda project. In order to bring the pandas to SF Zoo, as we learned last month, the zoo will need to construct a new enclosure for the bears, and there will be plenty of other expenses involved with their care as well.

"We’re talking with representatives of the zoo," Breed said last month, per NBC Bay Area. "We had some engineers from China that were here while I was in China to talk about it and what it would entail. We have an architect, we have people working on it."

Breed announced that she had secured the panda loan during her diplomatic trip to China in April, though critics were quick to point out that this was hardly a done deal, and quite a bit of money would need to be found to make this panda diplomacy happen.

As NBC Bay Area reports, Supervisor Ahsha Safai, who is running against Breed in November and does not serve on the Government Audit and Oversight Committee, attended the meeting and repeatedly referred to the panda resolution as a "distraction."

Safai also reportedly said that the behested payments resolution for the pandas was "tone deaf" given that the city is in a budge crisis and just annouced $24 million in cuts to after-school and youth programs.

Breed may still get her way, since Safai doesn't have a vote on the committee, and it's not clear how long the issue has been tabled for.

"San Francisco is an international destination and a global partner to cities around the world, and this is the result of strengthened partnerships," Breed said on X last month. "I can't wait to experience the excitement and joy these pandas will bring with all of you once they arrive."

Previously: SF Zoo to Receive Panda Loan From China

Photo: Sid Balachandran