‘Using their messy, morally-lacking ways for good’: TMZ targets senators vacationing at Disney World as shutdown hits 45 days

Most Americans feel powerless amid the ongoing partial government shutdown. For 45 days, the Department of Homeland Security has gone without funding, leaving the TSA in shambles and wreaking havoc at airports across America (where President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy ICE agents has only added to travelers’ stress). It’s up to members of Congress to end the shutdown one way or another, and an unlikely source just gave citizens a way to send their lawmakers a message: TMZ. TMZ’s reputation as a tabloid precedes it. Controversial reporting, like sharing photographs of Liam Payne’s body after his death and breaking the news of Kobe Bryant’s passing before his family had been informed, have made the outlet notorious for crossing lines with its journalism.  On Thursday, March 26, TMZ posted a call for submissions, asking Americans to send photos of congresspeople leaving Washington D.C. and on vacation, as Congress begins a planned two-week recess despite the ongoing shutdown