Trump to visit Mexico border, make TV address

US President Donald Trump said he would visit the country's southern border with Mexico on Thursday as the partial government shutdown stretched into its third week.

The White House confirmed Trump's visit before he announced separately he would make a primetime address on the subject on Tuesday, although at the time of writing the major networks were still deliberating on whether to grant the airtime.

Trump brushed aside concerns about the 800,000 government employees who have not been paid since the shutdown started.

Returning from Camp David, he said: “They will make an adjustment because they want to see the border taken care of.”

Some workers, such as Transportation Security Administration airport screeners, have been calling out sick at higher rates than usual. Conditions at national parks are deteriorating and the Department of Housing and Urban Development is running out of money for a key housing program.

Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has rejected providing any funding for a border wall to resolve the stalemate. Trump has retaliated by threatening to extend the shutdown for months or even years.