While tens of thousands of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees are struggling to make ends meet, some members of Congress appear to be going about their business as usual during the record-breaking government shutdown.
Instead of staying in Washington to resolve the funding stalemate, both chambers commenced a two-week Easter recess over the weekend, a move that is expected to prolong the record-breaking 46-day shutdown until mid-April.
In the meantime, some lawmakers have been spotted on vacation, posing for selfies on congressionally-sponsored trips and socializing in ritzy casino bars.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., sparked controversy after being spotted by TMZ at Disney World over the weekend.
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The South Carolina lawmaker was captured holding a “Little Mermaid”-themed bubble wand retailing for $40. Eyewitnesses told TMZ that Graham was holding the toy for a child while she went to the bathroom.
The influential Republican senator was also seen waiting in line with a family to ride Space Mountain and dining at Disney’s Contemporary Resort.
Graham blamed Democrats for the ongoing shutdown in a statement to TMZ, adding that he had repeatedly voted for DHS spending bills filibustered by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
“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 told the outlet. “I went to Orlando to meet friends after. I’m already back in South Carolina.”
“I voted 7 times to fully fund the government. Call a Democrat,” he added.
TMZ’s reporting came after the outlet asked for Americans to send tips about lawmakers on vacation or engaging in leisure during the planned recess period.
The pictures have sparked outrage, partly because lawmakers — who earn a base salary of $174,000 per year — are still receiving their paychecks, though members can elect to defer their salary until the shutdown ends.
In sharp contrast, certain individuals employed by the U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are not expected to receive salaries until DHS funding is restored.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that Trump wants lawmakers to cancel the recess and “to fund and reopen the Department of Homeland Security entirely.”
The embattled Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workforce began to receive back pay on Monday after reporting to work without pay during the first six weeks of the shutdown, following an executive order from President Donald Trump. More than 500 TSA agents quit during the funding lapse, according to senior DHS officials.
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Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rick Scott, R-Fla., have called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to cancel recess and call senators back to Washington. However, neither lawmaker was present during the Senate’s pro forma session on Monday.
Some lawmakers have defended the planned recess, despite the 46-day shutdown having no clear end in sight.
“You know very well that we’re not off,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told reporters Monday. “We’re working every day in our home states. For most of us, this is when we have time to go up and down our state and to meet with our constituents and listen to their concerns.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the influential House Oversight Committee, was spotted at a casino bar by TMZ over the weekend at the luxurious Fontainebleau Las Vegas resort.
Garcia’s Vegas visit came after he voted against a two-month DHS funding extension late Friday. The California Democrat had previously voted against a full-year DHS spending bill three times, citing his opposition to funding Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown efforts absent reforms.
“Actually, I don’t mind what TMZ is doing here,” Garcia wrote on X following the images’ circulation. “Like the story says my dad has lived in Vegas for 15 years and I had just finished lunch with him. I try to see him whenever I can.”
“And like I said a few days ago, Speaker Mike Johnson should have never sent us all home,” Garcia added.
Additionally, Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., is planning to co-host a watch party for the premiere of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island,” TMZ reported.
The offices of Graham, Garcia and Magaziner did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Some lawmakers are also participating in congressionally sponsored trips abroad during the DHS funding lapse.
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., John Curtis, R-Utah, and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., traveled to Taiwan as part of a congressional delegation to strengthen U.S.-Taiwan ties.
The group was seen smiling while taking photos with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te and other Taiwanese officials on Monday, according to images released on social media by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrats.