The optics weren’t good — a senator waiting in line with bubble wand in hand at Disney World while midst of a partial government shutdown.
But that is just what Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) did over the weekend that had him doing some explaining Tuesday, per The Hill.
Graham was seen at the theme park in Florida on Friday and Saturday.
“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 in a statement. That statement was then with The Hill.
“I went to Orlando to meet friends after. I’m already back in South Carolina,” he added.
Images of Graham emerged after TMZ requested photos of lawmakers who were away from Washington during the shutdown.
On Monday, Graham posted a picture of himself hunting with a gun in Edgefield County, South Carolina after receiving pushback for vacationing as Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff are being asked to work without pay.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TSA, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, has been shut down for more than 45 days.
The House and Senate are battling over whether to fund immigration agencies as Democrats push for reforms following the deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal authorities.
