When Donald Trump tells the Republicans, okay, sit down now and negotiate, look, they don't do

anything without Donald Trump. I'm genuinely, I don't know what's happened to the Republicans

in the United States Senate. It's as if they have all had their spines surgically removed.

They only do what Donald Trump tells them to do. So if Donald Trump tells

him to sit down and negotiate, then they will sit down and negotiate. He claims to be the dealmaker.

Okay. Tell your guys to sit down and work something out with the Democrats. And then it will happen.

A fiery Senator Elizabeth Warren there with me yesterday

asking President Trump to encourage Republicans to negotiate with Democrats

to end this government shutdown.

The question is, are we any closer to a deal 22 days in?

Meanwhile, President Trump is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars

in damages from the federal government

for prior

Justice Department investigations into his actions. The question is, is there any merit to these claims?

Also ahead, the president's proposed summit with Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine now appears

to be on hold. The question is, will the two sides ever wind up at the negotiating table again?

It's way too early for this.

Good morning and welcome to way too early, the show that knows what it's like to work through the night.

We've got a live look there at Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, giving a marathon speech on the floor of the Senate. We'll tell you more about that story in just a bit. I'm Allie Vitale on this Wednesday, October 22nd, and we'll start with the news right here in Washington because we've reached day 22 of the government shutdown. Yesterday, President Trump posted a private lunch meeting with Senate Republicans at the White House

to thank them for their unity on this issue,

while criticizing Democrats for refusing to extend government funding.

And I want to just say from the beginning, our message has been very simple.

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