President Donald Trump has said he will make a "major announcement" on the government shutdown and the southern border as the standstill over his border wall continues.
The White House did not immediately provide details on Friday about what the president would be announcing 3pm on Saturday (2am on Sunday, AEDT), but a person familiar with the planning said Trump planned to outline a new deal with specific proposals that the administration believes could potentially pave the way to the shutdown's end.
The move, on Day 28 of a shutdown that has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay cheques, represents the first major overture by the president since January 8, when he delivered an Oval Office address making the public case for his border wall.
The president and his aides have said he will not budge on his demand for $US5.7 billion dollars for his border wall.
Democrats have panned the offer and said they will not negotiate until the government reopens.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to discuss what Mr Trump might propose but said he was "going to continue looking for the solution" to end what the administration had repeatedly referred to as a "humanitarian and national security crisis at the border".
While few would argue that a humanitarian crisis is unfolding as the demand for entry by migrants and the Trump administration's hardline response overwhelm border resources, critics say Trump has badly exaggerated the security risks.
The political stakes are high as the shutdown moves into a fifth week, with hundreds of thousands of federal workers going without pay and no outward signs of resolution.
