Lindsey Graham slammed for visiting Disney World amid partial government shutdown

Joey NolfiTue, March 31, 2026 at 3:15 PM UTC

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Sen. Lindsey Graham; Magic Kingdom at Disney WorldCredit: Getty(2)Key Points -

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was slammed for visiting Disney World amid the partial government shutdown.

The conservative politician was photographed at Magic Kingdom and at the Contemporary Resort.

The View's Ana Navarro and Whoopi Goldberg previously called out vacationing politicians amid the shutdown.

Controversial South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has been slammed by the public after photos circulated online showing the politician visiting Disney World while federal workers go unpaid during a partial government shutdown.

The criticism came after news outlet TMZ published several photos this week that showed the 70-year-old Republican at various locales around the Orlando-based resort, including Chef Mickey's restaurant at the Contemporary Resort, and inside the Magic Kingdom park.

Nodding to the lyrics found inside Disney's signature It's a Small World boat ride, one X user commented on TMZ's initial post, writing, "He’s a small small Man..." while another wrote, "Priorities looking crazy. Senators out here enjoying Mickey Mouse while federal workers wait for paychecks."

Sen. Lindsey GrahamCredit: Tom Williams/Getty

Graham told TMZ that he "was invited to a meeting in South Florida on Friday with Trump official Steve Witkoff," during which he said they "spoke to talk about the possibility of normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel."

He added, "I went to Orlando to meet friends after. I'm already back in South Carolina" and told the outlet that he "voted 7 times to fully fund the government. Call a Democrat."

Graham's office did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly's request for comment via phone or email.

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Graham's Disney World visit came amid a partial government shutdown that previously resulted in Transportation Safety Administration officers going unpaid, all while Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives and Senate squabble over various issues.

Government agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, which includes TSA, have been shut down for over 45 days. The shutdown precludes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency that has been at the center of much of the funding debate.

On Friday, President Donald Trump "ordered the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA officers immediately to ease the lines plaguing airports," per the .

Sen. Lindsey Graham in South Carolina in October 2025Credit: Tracy Glantz/Getty

Officials have received intense blowback from the public, including from celebrities and commentators like The View's Ana Navarro and Whoopi Goldberg, who on Monday's episode of the talk show specifically called out elected politicians vacationing during the partial shutdown.

"Why do you get to go on spring break when people are not getting paid? I don't get that," Goldberg said, while Navarro later urged viewers to "go look up what your congressperson looks like, so if you see them in the airport on the way to the Caribbean or you see them at the airport on the way to Orlando, Disney World, you say hello to them."

on Entertainment Weekly

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