Jan. 7 (UPI) — President Donald Trump will discuss national security in a national prime-time address Tuesday, then travel to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday, the White House announced.
“I am pleased to inform you that I will Address the Nation on the Humanitarian and National Security crisis on our Southern Border. Tuesday night at 9:00 P.M. Eastern,” Trump tweeted.
Earlier, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders announced via Twitter that the president will travel to the border Thursday to “meet with those on the front lines of the national security and humanitarian crisis.”
The location of Trump’s border appearance wasn’t immediately released, but a notice shared by the Federal Aviation Administration regarding VIP movement in McAllen, Texas, on Thursday could indicate that he will visit the city in the southeastern corner of the state, just north of the border.
A wall for the border is at the center of a partial shutdown of the U.S. government. Trump has demanded that billions for the wall be included in any bill that funds the government. Spending bills passed by both houses of Congress so far have included no such money.
The Senate passed a bill two weeks ago to keep the government open, but included no wall funds. A day later, the then-GOP-controlled House included money for the wall in its spending bill — but no action was taken. Last week, the new Democratic-controlled House passed another funding bill that included no money for the barrier. Though that bill would’ve likely passed the upper chamber, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said he wouldn’t send any bill to Trump that would be vetoed.
Democrats in the House and Senate have rejected funding at the $5 billion Trump has asked for.
Trump traveled to San Diego last May to view prototypes of a wall. While Congress has approved additional money for border security in the past, none of it has been spent on new wall designs.
Trump has told Democrats he is willing to keep the federal government shut down for months, or even years, to get funding to build the wall.
Meanwhile, Rep. Joaquin Castro, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, led a delegation to Alamogordo, N.M., on Monday to investigate the death of a migrant child at the border Dec. 25.
