Lindsey Graham Spotted Dining at Disney World as DHS Shutdown Drags on

(AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey) (Photo by Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

Images of Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) at Disney World in Florida ignited backlash as the Department of Homeland Security shutdown stretches into its sixth week, leaving tens of thousands of federal workers unpaid.

Photographs published by TMZ on Sunday showed the South Carolina lawmaker having breakfast in Chef Mickey’s restaurant at the Contemporary Resort as the shutdown hit 44 days.

The outlet drew on the optics, mockingly noting that the buffet line the senator joined was “much shorter than the TSA lines around the country.”

The official press office account of California governor Gavin Newsom even weighed in:

Graham defended the trip, telling TMZ: “I was invited to a meeting in South Florida on Friday with Trump official Steve Witkoff to talk about the possibility of normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel. I went to Orlando to meet friends after. I’m already back in South Carolina.”

“I voted seven times to fully fund the government. Call a Democrat,” he added.

The shutdown, triggered by a funding impasse over the Department of Homeland Security, has already forced around 50,000 federal workers to go without pay while disruption has been felt in airports across the country, with reports of Transportation Security Administration officers reportedly quitting over the crisis.

The Senate passed a funding bill last week, but House Republican leaders declined to advance it Friday.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!