Trump To Address Nation About 'Crisis' At Mexico Border

WASHINGTON, DC — President Donald Trump plans to address the nation Tuesday night about what he called a "crisis" at the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump's prime-time address will come amid a partial government shutdown caused by his insistence that Congress give him more than $5 billion to build a border wall. Congressional Democrats have refused to pay for the project.

Trump tweeted that he'll address the nation at 9 p.m. EST on Tuesday.

Trump also plans to visit the southern border Thursday to highlight his demands for the wall.White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president will "meet with those on the front lines of the national security and humanitarian crisis."

More details would be announced soon, she added.

Trump has shown no signs of budging on his demand for more than $5 billion for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, though on Sunday he did offer to build it with steel rather than concrete, a concession Democrats widely panned. The shutdown has lasted more than two weeks so far, with little indication it would end anytime soon.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi planned to begin passing individual bills to reopen agencies in the coming days, starting with the Treasury Department to ensure people receive their tax refunds.

Newly empowered House Democrats are planning to increase pressure on Trump and Republican lawmakers to reopen the government. With the shutdown lurching into a third week, many Republicans have watched nervously from the sidelines as hundreds of thousands of federal workers go without pay and government disruptions hit the lives of ordinary Americans.

Photo credit: Alex Brandon/Associated Press