TMZ has launched a shame campaign against members of Congress as the federal government remains partially shut down, posting photos of lawmakers of both parties on vacation to spotlight how “insulting” it was for them to leave Washington D.C. without a deal.
“The point of this is to show how fed up the American people are, because we are,” Levin said in an X video on Monday explaining why the outlet, best known for exposing celebrities, is targeting members of Congress.
The outlet has posted photos of lawmakers on various trips, most notably Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) with a bubble wand and boarding Space Mountain at Walt Disney World in Orlando — images that quickly went viral.
Graham told TMZ he was in in South Florida on Friday to meet with Trump official Steve Witkoff before going “to Orlando to meet friends after.“ I’m already back in South Carolina.”
Levin said in the video he wanted to show how lawmakers from both sides of the aisle contributed to the ongoing partial government shutdown, which has stripped the Department of Homeland Security of funds, leaving airport security lines stretching for hours as Transportation Security Administration agents went unpaid before President Donald Trump signed an executive order to pay them. Levin said both parties should have compromised on a bill instead of venturing out on pre-planned vacations.
“They are patronizing us, and that’s why we’re doing this. Something has to change,” he said. “Here is our expectation that you will keep the government open, that federal workers will get paid, and if you don’t do that, we’re going to throw you out like we threw your predecessors out.”
Levin told NOTUS in a statement that the effort is part of TMZ’s expanded interest in Washington reporting. The outlet now has a producer and photographer on Capitol Hill, and it has conducted hallway interviews with several lawmakers.
“TMZ has covered politics for years, but several months ago we decided to amp up our presence and our voice,” he said in a statement, later adding: “Short story — our DC presence will sometimes be fun, sometimes intensely serious.”
TMZ has also caught Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) at a casino table in Las Vegas; Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on flights; and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) at an airport leaving the capital.
Garcia, who was visiting his father in Las Vegas, said he didn’t “mind what TMZ is doing here.”
“My dad has lived in Vegas for 15 years and I had just finished lunch with him,” he wrote. “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.”
