Congress and Federal Power

Sen. Mike Lee, R‑Utah, is publicly calling on President Donald Trump to invoke Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution to force Congress to cut short its spring recess and return to Washington while the Department of Homeland Security remains unfunded. In a Saturday Fox News interview, Lee argued that the DHS shutdown and what he calls urgent 'election security' needs qualify as the 'extraordinary occasions' that allow a president to compel lawmakers back, and said he wants them to debate and pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would tighten proof‑of‑citizenship requirements for voting. Congress left town in March with plans to return in mid‑April, even as images circulate of members vacationing at casinos and resorts while DHS funding and the SAVE Act are stalled. Trump has already signed an executive order to keep TSA workers paid during the shutdown and told the New York Post he is considering ordering Congress back, but has not yet acted. The step Lee is urging has not been used since President Harry S. Truman’s 1948 "Turnip Day" session, so any move by Trump to force a recall would likely trigger an immediate political and legal fight over presidential power and congressional prerogatives.