Lawmakers’ absence from Washington during a partial government shutdown has become a focal point for pressure campaigns that blend celebrity-style media attention, White House messaging and labor-backed criticism, with a central demand: Congress should return earlier than planned.
TMZ, an outlet known for celebrity coverage, began posting what it described as paparazzi-style images and videos of lawmakers during their breaks, including clips tied to travel through airports and vacation stops. The company’s posts drew backlash amid disruptions from the shutdown and reports of federal workers going without pay, as lawmakers who left Washington remained on the internet’s front page with provocative captions.
In one example, TMZ shared content showing senators moving through airports while attempting to shield themselves from cameras, and the clips accumulated millions of views. The outlet also shared viral photos tied to vacation travel, including posts about Sen. Lindsey Graham visiting Disney World in Florida; Graham said he had been in Florida for a meeting with Trump administration officials and made a stop at Disney World with a friend, and he blamed Democrats for the shutdown.
Other lawmakers were also shown in posts that circulated widely, including Rep. Robert Garcia, who shared his own response to the TMZ coverage. Garcia posted that he was visiting his father and said, “Speaker Mike Johnson should have never sent us all home,” adding to the idea that the recess itself had become politically salient.
TMZ’s effort did not originate as a policy campaign, according to the outlet’s own explanation. TMZ executive producer Harvey Levin said the push grew from frustration after TMZ interviewed a TSA worker who was struggling due to missed paychecks during the shutdown, and he said the coverage would not end soon. Levin said the outlet had “decided to amp up our presence and our voice” and that it now had a producer and a photographer circulating in the Capitol to document what he described as “the intersection between politics and pop culture.”
Pressure has also escalated from the White House alongside the viral attention. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump has urged leadership to cancel the recess “repeatedly,” adding that he would host a “big Easter dinner” at the White House if Congress returned. Trump also spoke with Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Sunday and Monday, according to the reporting.
The joint push for congressional action came as House Speaker Mike Johnson and Thune issued a statement that Republicans would pursue a path to end the DHS funding impasse “in the coming days.” Their outline described “two parallel tracks” aimed at fully funding the entire Department of Homeland Security, with Republicans relying on a deal that would fund most of the department through cooperation with Democratic senators.
Under the approach described by Johnson and Thune, money would be left out for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol, with Republicans seeking to fund those agencies later through party-line budgeting legislation. Trump appeared to endorse the emerging strategy, saying on social media that Republicans were “going forward” to fund ICE and Border Patrol without Democratic votes, and he set a June 1 deadline for Congress to act.
Unions and worker advocates added their own criticism of lawmakers leaving Washington. Hydrick Thomas, president of the American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council 100, said that leaving Washington while tens of thousands of workers were going without pay showed a lack of respect for “the essential employees tasked with keeping our nation safe.”
While the recess and the accompanying travel have fed public anger, lawmakers and political operators have also pointed to the idea that recess can be a time to reconnect with constituents and hold events back home. Some lawmakers have also gone on trips abroad, including joining delegations, even as the political momentum for an early return builds around the shutdown and the effort to move DHS funding legislation through Congress.