1/ As the shutdown stretches into its 12th day – and a day before Democrats take control of the house – Trump invited congressional leaders to the White House for a briefing on border security. It’s the first time Trump has sat down with top congressional leaders of both parties since the shutdown started. Homeland Security officials will brief the top two leaders of each party from both the Senate and the House. “Border Security and the Wall ‘thing’ and Shutdown,� Trump tweeted, “is not where Nancy Pelosi wanted to start her tenure as Speaker! Let’s make a deal?� (Washington Post / The Guardian / New York Times / Politico)

2/ House Democrats plan to vote on a bipartisan package of six Senate spending bills to reopen the government, as well as a stopgap measure to reopen the Department of Homeland Security at its current funding levels until February 8. The temporary funding measure would include the current $1.3 billion in border security money, which can be used for fencing and repairs of the current barriers. The move, however, lacks support from Senate Republicans and Trump. (CNN / NBC News)

Trump tried to convince people on Twitter that the Obamas had a 10-foot wall built around their family home in D.C. as a way of justifying why the U.S. should build a wall along the southern border with Mexico. Trump tweeted: “I agree, totally necessary for their safety and security. The U.S. needs the same thing, slightly larger version!� According to a neighbor (and all of the available photos of the residence), “There’s a fence that goes along the front of the house, but it’s the same as the other neighbors have.� Another neighbor said the house is “100 percent visible from the street.� (Washington Post / Rolling Stone)

John Kelly: Trump abandoned the idea of “a solid concrete wall early on in the administration.� The outgoing chief of staff added that “the president still says ‘wall,’� but he often means a “‘barrier’ or ‘fencing,’ now he’s tended toward steel slats.� Trump responded to Kelly’s comments on Twitter, saying that the idea of an all-concrete border “WAS NEVER ABANDONED,� asserting that the Border Patrol experts “prefer a Wall that is see through.� (Los Angeles Times /