This was something that TMZ advertised - requesting that if anyone spots these rogue members of Congress anywhere, to send them pics - Send Us Congress Vacay Pics!!!
CNN
TMZs founder channels national anger with Washington
PUBLISHED Apr 3, 2026, 3:54 PM ET
TMZs founder Harvey Levin knows what the people want to see. Usually, thats celebrity drama and misbehavior by athletes. As the site flooded the internet this week with photos of lawmakers on vacation while Congress is in recess in the middle of a punishing partial government shutdown, it was clear he once again had his finger on the pulse.
To Levin, the photos captured something that endless stories about the partial shutdown now the longest in the countrys history could not. I think you grab people where you meet them where they want to be, and here they want these images, and the images tell the story for them, and thats what were doing right now, Levin said in an interview on CNNs The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.
The flood of photos began with Sen. Lindsey Graham on vacation at Disney World in Orlando holding a bubble wand inspired by The Little Mermaid. Photos of other lawmakers either in their home districts or on vacation during the two-week spring break recess followed.
Levin said he issued a call for TMZs audience to send in photos after interviewing a Transportation Security Agency worker who was not getting paid because of the partial shutdown, caused by disagreements in Congress over immigration enforcement reform.
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NYT TMZ Sics Its Tipsters on a New Breed of Celebrity Villain: Members of Congress
The Guardian -
TMZ tracks US lawmakers vacationing amid the partial government shutdown
The Hill -
TMZ wants photos of lawmakers vacationing at your expense amid TSA shutdown
If people can't figure out what the strategy is here that HELPS our cause, instead obsessing over the "messenger outlet" reporting on what one entity is doing to generate outrage at what is going on, then there is not much I can do other than to keep digging through finding news that gets blanked out by Taylor Swift, "March Madness", and Blake Lively.