Lawmakers in the spotlight for leaving Washington amid DHS shutdown

Lawmakers are being showcased on pseudo-spring break vacations after they couldn’t agree on how to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

TMZ requested that travelers submit photos of U.S. lawmakers on vacation during their two-week congressional recess, whether that be at a theme park or lounging at the beach.

“We want to show what they are doing at your expense, and we want everybody to hear that, and we are waiting for those pictures,” Harvey Levin, TMZ’s executive producer, said on social media.

Sen. Lindsey Graham found himself on the hot seat after a photo appeared online of the South Carolina Republican at Disney World over the weekend, complete with a bubble wand.

“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,” Mr. Graham said in a statement. “I went to Orlando to meet friends after. I’m already back in South Carolina.”

He added, “I voted 7 times to fully fund the government. Call a Democrat.”

The senator then posted a photo of himself aiming a shotgun with the caption, “Spent some time breaking clays. … Doesn’t get much better than that.”

Rep. Robert Garcia, California Democrat, was seen at a Las Vegas casino on Sunday to have lunch with his father, who has lived there for 15 years.

“As he stated the day Speaker Johnson sent Congress home, it is crazy for Republicans to reject the deal on the table and send members home while the American people suffer. Republicans chose to continue this shutdown, and Garcia is ready to get back to work the second Mike Johnson decides to do his job,” his spokesperson, Sara Guerrero, told TMZ.

Mr. Garcia posted on social media, “I don’t mind what tmz is doing here,” adding that Mr. Johnson “should have never sent us all home.”

Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent, was spotted flying in first class out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Friday, minutes after the House shot down the Senate-passed bill to pay Transportation Security Administration officers. His office said he was heading to a “No Kings” rally in Minnesota.

Numerous other lawmakers were caught on camera at airports across the country.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Republican, was spotted heading to a security checkpoint hours before the bill was voted on in the Senate.

Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, was at the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, airport Tuesday after attending the Conservative Political Action Conference’s annual convention near Dallas.

At Denver International Airport, Sen. John Barrasso, Wyoming Republican, was preparing to board a flight to Casper, Wyoming, on Friday night.

A picture was taken of Rep. Buddy Carter at Virginia’s Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport after he attended his grandson’s sporting event Saturday. The Georgia Republican flew to North Carolina before ending his travels in Atlanta.

Lawmakers have been deadlocked in negotiations to end the partial government shutdown, with DHS closed almost two months. The Senate passed a bill to pay TSA workers early Friday before it failed in the House.

The shutdown has left many DHS employees working without pay.

TMZ’s coverage of lawmakers leaving the capital comes as the outlet decided to up its presence in the political space, including with a new Capitol Hill team.