Lindsey Graham explains why he was spotted at Disney World during shutdown
Lindsey Graham explains why he was spotted at Disney World during shutdown
Julia Gomez, USA TODAYTue, March 31, 2026 at 8:39 PM UTC
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South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said he made a brief stop at Walt Disney World after meetings in Florida, responding after photos of the Republican senator at the Orlando theme park circulated widely during the partial government shutdown.The images, published by TMZ on Sunday, March 29, prompted criticism as thousands of federal workers, including Transportation Security Administration officers, went more than a month without full pay during the shutdown. Graham said he had already returned home and noted that he voted multiple times to reopen the government.
"I was invited to a meeting in South Florida on Friday with Trump official Steve Witkoff and others to talk about the possibility of normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel," Graham said in a statement emailed to USA TODAY. "I went to Orlando to meet friends after. I'm already back in South Carolina."
1 / 0ICE agents appear at airports as TSA delays snarl check-in
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, March 23, 2026. Hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were ordered to deploy to airports to help fill TSA staffing gaps across the country.
Graham's visit to Disney World occurred while the Department of Homeland Security remained shut down and TSA agents had not received full paychecks for weeks.
TSA employees began getting paid again on Monday, March 30, after working without pay for about 44 days following the partial shutdown that began on Feb.13, according to USA TODAY's previous reporting.
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks to reporters, on the day of classified briefings for the full U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on the situation in Iran, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on March 3, 2026.TMZ calls for photos of members of Congress
TMZ published the images after urging the public to submit photos of members of Congress vacationing while TSA officers worked without pay during the shutdown.
“As TSA officers are selling their blood to keep a roof over their heads, members of Congress are packing their bags for a two-week vacation, and we want the pics,” TMZ wrote in an article published Thursday, March 26.
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Days later, the outlet posted photos of Graham visiting Walt Disney World, including one showing the senator holding a bubble wand at Magic Kingdom.
Graham faces backlash
Some criticized Graham for visiting the park during the shutdown.
“U.S. citizens are really suffering and (Graham is) living it up at Disney,” one person commented on one of TMZ’s Instagram posts.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office also weighed in, responding to the photos in a post on X: “Divas still need vacation.”
Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, Eve Chen and Trevor Hughes; USA TODAY
Julia Gomez is a Trending reporter for USA TODAY and covers popular toys, scientific studies, natural disasters, holidays, and trending news. Email her at jgomez@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lindsey Graham addresses Disney World trip during shutdown
Source: “AOL Breaking”
