Mike Lee demands Congress ends recess early as DHS shutdown becomes longest in history Cami Mondeaux is the congressional correspondent for the Deseret News covering both the House and Senate. She’s reported on Capitol Hill for over two years covering the latest developments on national news while also diving into the policy issues that directly impact her home state of Utah. WASHINGTON — Utah Sen. Mike Lee is demanding congressional leaders bring lawmakers back early from an ongoing two-week recess, calling it "inhumane" to have lawmakers out of town as the partial government shutdown becomes the longest in U. S. history.In a flurry of social media posts over the weekend, Lee repeatedly called on the Senate to return to Washington, D.C., to continue funding negotiations for the Department of Homeland Security, which has been closed since Feb. 14 — the longest shutdown for a single government agency.Lawmakers left for the holiday recess on Friday with no plans so far to return early despite failing to come to an agreement on how to reopen the department."This is the Senate's *second* recess since the DHS shutdown began. The Senate shouldn't have taken the last one either, but it certainly shouldn't take this one — a two-week recess 40 days into the crisis," Lee said in a post on X on Monday. "This is insane. And inhumane. The Senate should convene immediately and debate funding proposals until DHS is fully funded."Brief Senate session on Monday ends without solutionThe Senate was briefly in session on Monday morning for a pro forma session, during which Republicans had the opportunity to request unanimous approval to pass the temporary funding bill that passed the House on Friday. Through unanimous consent, Republicans could pass a bill without needing a roll call vote so long as no one on the floor objects.No Republican requested passage — and a Democratic senator was on the floor ready to object even if they had."The Senate just completed a pro forma session. No attempt was made to pass DHS funding by unanimous consent," Lee said in another post on Monday. "The Senate must convene now."Lee has suggested President Donald Trump should use his authority under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution to convene the Senate "on extraordinary Occasions." The record-long shutdown, which has left hundreds of thousands of employees without paychecks, should qualify for that exception, Lee argued."If a department with 260,000 employees going unfunded isn't an 'extraordinary occasion' — especially while the Senate is out on a two-week recess during that shutdown with no plans to resolve the impasse beyond 'we'll deal with that in two weeks' — I don't know what is," Lee wrote in a third post.Trump wants Congress to come back from re