Lindsey Graham takes grilling after being spotted at Disney World amid shutdown

Amid the ongoing partial government shutdown that has sparked chaos and long lines at airports nationwide, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was spotted at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida dining at Chef Mickey’s, and having a “grand ol’ time,” TMZ reported on Sunday, sparking immediate backlash from several notable critics.

“Divas still need vacation,” reads a social media post from California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office in response to Graham’s Disney World getaway.

“Why is an old man with no kids going to Disney?” wrote conservative journalist Cassandra MacDonald in a social media post on X.

Graham confirmed his trip to Disney World to TMZ, telling the outlet that he was in Florida on official business.

"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,” Graham told TMZ. “I went to Orlando to meet friends after. I'm already back in South Carolina."

As to the trip taking place amid the ongoing partial government shutdown, Graham laid blame for the chaos entirely on the Democratic Party.

"I voted 7 times to fully fund the government,” Graham told TMZ. “Call a Democrat."

As a senator, Graham did support a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security – and by extension, the Transportation Security Administration. The bill was rejected, however, by House Republican leadership, who instead put forward an alternative bill to fund the critical federal agency responsible for screening travelers at airports nationwide.