President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, March 29, 2026. [REUTERS/Elizabeth Franz/File Photo]

U.S. President Donald Trump signaled on Monday that he would be willing to call Congress back from an early recess to resolve the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.

In an interview with the New York Post, he said it was "under consideration" and joked, "Perhaps I will let them have Easter." This suggests he may be willing to convene lawmakers after Easter, which falls on April 5.

Congress is currently scheduled to remain in recess until April 14. The Senate left Washington after passing a bill to secure funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) alone, excluding appropriations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), at 3 a.m.

Conversely, the House of Representatives rejected the compromise measure passed by the Senate and passed a 60-day continuing resolution to fund the entire DHS.

The Department of Homeland Security has now been in shutdown for 45 days, breaking its own record for the longest shutdown in history.

While the president has the constitutional authority to convene a special session of Congress, this power has only been used 27 times in the nation's history, with no president having convened a special session since President Harry Truman in 1948 to urge Republican lawmakers to debate legislation on healthcare, civil rights, and Social Security.

White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt stated at a briefing on Monday, January 30, "Nothing will truly be back to normal until Democrats do the right thing and fully fund this agency."

The government shutdown began when Senate Democrats demanded changes to President Trump's policy of mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. Subsequently, Republicans opposed measures to fund only parts of the State Department, postponing discussions on immigration enforcement to a later date.

Some have argued that the DHS shutdown should be resolved through the budget reconciliation process, and that the Save America Act should be passed. However, no concrete movements in this regard have been seen yet.

U.S. NNP=Sung Ku Hong, Chief Reporter / Special Correspondent for this newspaper NNP info@newsandpost.com