Overview
- TMZ announced a three-producer team for Washington coverage as Congress returned from recess, putting cameras in hallways and on Capitol grounds.
- The crew confronted Sen. Lindsey Graham about a viral Disney World photo of him holding a bubble wand, and he refused to answer.
- Producers pressed Sen. Ted Cruz to choose between President Donald Trump and the Pope in their public dispute over the war in Iran, and he declined.
- Harvey Levin and Charles Latibeaudiere said the expansion followed their interview with an unpaid TSA worker during a partial DHS shutdown and a call for readers to send in photos of vacationing lawmakers.
- Reaction ranged from praise by figures like Meghan McCain to warnings about TMZ’s paid sourcing and privacy intrusions, and there has been no move to change congressional press access.