Trump’s border battle goes prime time

• Unlike last year, when Democrats could only express their concern about Trump, Pelosi now speaks as a figure Trump needs to deal with on equal terms.
• Trump isn’t expected to declare a national emergency, WSJ reports.

Between the lines: Trump appears to be playing defense.

• It's unclear why incoming Democrats would be swayed by this issue so shortly after the president made it a central election topic and his party lost the House.
• House Democrats also plan to start introducing bills to re-open parts of the government, hoping the threat of defecting Republicans persuades leadership to break with Trump.
• Senate Democrats are working to grind legislation to a standstill to pressure Mitch McConnell, the NY Times reports.
• Trump will attend a Senate Republican lunch meeting on Wednesday, according to multiple people familiar with the decision.

Go deeper: Reality check — The truth about Trump's border crisis