By Alex Leary 
 

WASHINGTON -- President Trump is planning a Saturday afternoon announcement about the southern border and the partial government shutdown.

"I will be making a major announcement concerning the Humanitarian Crisis on our Southern Border, and the Shutdown, tomorrow afternoon at 3 P.M., live from the @WhiteHouse," he wrote Friday evening on Twitter.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

Mr. Trump is engaged in a standoff with Congressional Democrats over his demand for $5.7 billion in border-wall funding. The president had considered declaring a national emergency to pull money from parts of the government but backed off the option, which drew bipartisan objections from Capitol Hill and would draw a legal challenge.

In recent days he has talked of a new migrant caravan from Central America headed to the U.S. border. "Another big Caravan heading our way. Very hard to stop without a Wall!" he wrote early Friday on Twitter.

Friday marked the 28th day of the shutdown, which has exacerbated partisan tension and resulted in about 800,000 federal workers going without pay.

Write to Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 18, 2019 18:40 ET (23:40 GMT)