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Good morning, everyone. I'm Playbook co-author, Ryan Lizza. It's Wednesday, January 17th,

and here's what's driving the day. First, there are some developments this morning on bipartisan

talks over the fate of the Supplemental Aid Pack package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan,

which remains stalled over border security changes demanded by Republicans.

President Biden, who is dramatically stepping up his involvement in these difficult negotiations,

and he's called the top four congressional leaders to the White House to discuss the issue today.

We're told that the meeting may focus mainly on the urgency

of getting money to Ukraine rather than the nitty-gritty border details. Meanwhile, over in the

Senate, while negotiators there haven't even reached a final border deal, some GOP Senate leaders

are telling House Republicans they need to take whatever the chamber sends over, arguing that

this is a unique opportunity that won't come again soon, even if Republicans take back the Senate.

Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the minority whip, tells R. Burgess Everett, there's absolutely

no way that we would get the kind of border policy that's been talked about right now with

the Republican majority in the Senate. One source close to the talks told Playbook last night

that the issue of parole continues to vex the talks, saying that while the White House

has been trying to find a compromise on parole, it is proving difficult to find language

that both preserves the current Biden parole programs

and satisfies Republicans.

Last night, the Senate cleared its first hurdle to advance the continuing resolution and prevent

a partial government shutdown this weekend.

Watch today to see if any GOP senators hold up the process.

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