WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - President Donald Trump will travel to the US-Mexico border on Thursday to meet with those on the frontlines of the nation’s security, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. “President @realDonaldTrump will travel to the Southern border on Thursday to meet with those on the front lines of the national security and humanitarian crisis. More details will be announced soon,” Sanders said in a Twitter post on Monday. Trump has been threatening to declare a national emergency to bypass Congress to build a wall on the border. However, in a statement posted on Twitter earlier on Monday, the president said he would prefer reaching a funding deal with Congress. The US government has endured a partial shutdown for nearly three weeks after Trump refused to approve a funding bill because it did not include more than $5 billion to build a wall along the border with Mexico.

The president told Democrats last he was willing to keep the government closed for months or even years until he gets the border issue resolved.