TMZ’s arrival on Capitol Hill elicits both groans and curiosity

TMZ’s move into the Capitol Hill media scene is sparking eye rolls from lawmakers, aides and journalists who spend their days in the halls of Congress and fueling steady chatter among them about the outlet’s motives and unconventional reporting style.  

A tabloid known for its sensational headlines and dirt-digging on actors, athletes and celebrities, TMZ this week opened what it is calling its D.C. bureau.

The small team of staffers has been deployed to confront lawmakers on any topic that will drive online engagement, make connections in the D.C. political and media ecosystem, and churn out any political content that will go viral.

The three paparazzi-style employees have spent the past several days handing out business cards in House and Senate cafeterias and walking up to lawmakers with a camera in hand, peppering them with direct and, at times, combative questions with the goal of baiting a lawmaker into giving a notable soundbite.

The outlet is also teasing more in-depth coverage of D.C.’s social clubs and elite power circles.

TMZ’s full-court press into national politics comes on the heels of growing concern about lawmaker misconduct and just days ahead of the Washington party circuit’s biggest weekend of the year, punctuated by the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

“I’ve spent 15 years in this city, and somehow no outlet has ever really properly captured its social scene. Washington isn’t just about power anymore; it’s about personalities. Politics has become entertainment, and whether people like it or not, Trump helped usher that in,” one Washington-based communications professional told The Hill this week. “D.C. runs on secrets and what happens behind closed doors. It’s a vicious place where scandal thrives, and we all know TMZ is fearless and always pursues a scandal. They’re a perfect match. And probably each other’s worst nightmare.” 

The TMZ D.C. team has heavily documented its first days on the job, getting its bearings around the Capitol and adjacent House and Senate office buildings.

Wearing a T-shirt and bantering during a recent live show with the site’s founder, Harvey Levin, a producer laughed as he described his perception of the daily life of a member of Congress, a gig he called the “cushiest” job in the world.

In one video the outlet posted online Monday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is seen putting his hand in front of a camera and ignoring a question yelled by a TMZ staffer asking about a recent trip to Disney World the Republican took during the two-week congressional recess.

Another video showed a TMZ producer pressing Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) over “whose side” he was on in the recent spat between President Trump and Pope Leo XIV over the holy figure’s criticism of the war with Iran.

“I’m quite confident both the pope and the president speak for themselves,” Cruz responded, before alluding to the outlet’s motives. “I understand you want to get me in the middle of that.”

Levin, who founded the tabloid in 2005, grabbed attention in political circles earlier this month when he published photos of Republicans and Democrats seemingly enjoying themselves during the recess, which coincided with the Department of Homeland Security shutdown.

The tabloid is widely known to pay for images of famous people caught in potentially unflattering situations.

TMZ did not respond to a request for comment, but Levin, in a recent interview, expressed his disgust with Congress, particularly over the shutdown.  

“People in this country have got to send a message,” he told SiriusXM. “For these congressmen to play us like fools and make it seem like no, no it’s the other guy’s fault, when it’s everybody, is just intolerable.”

In media work areas, the Capitol subway and Cannon Tunnel, TMZ’s arrival on the Capitol grounds has been a point of chatter among reporters covering Congress and aides ushering lawmakers to various obligations.  

“It’s pretty crazy; I don’t think it’s going to go well for anyone,” one reporter was overheard saying to another of TMZ.

Others mocked the outlet’s apparent unfamiliarity with the logistics of covering Congress.

“I can tell they are obviously still learning politics, and it’s pretty funny to see it unfold,” another journalist at the Capitol told The Hill.

Some House and Senate staffers joked about finding new routes to take lawmakers to and from appointments or votes and mixing up travel patterns from various offices to avoid running into TMZ staffers.

Like any outlet covering Congress, media working for TMZ must be credentialed by the Senate and House periodical press galleries. Staffers must adhere to rules about designated areas where recording is allowed and maintain certain professional decorum.

Men must wear a jacket and tie in the Speaker’s Lobby, for example, where no photo or video recording is allowed.

Among lawmakers on Capitol Hill, as more video confrontations pop up online, TMZ’s presence is looming larger.  

“I think it’s a good thing to have more eyes on Washington and folks’ activities here, generally. But we’ll see what TMZ’s goal is,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told The Hill. “If what they’re doing is trying to catch members off-guard or unprepared or awkwardly running away, I get how that produces amusing or interesting content for some people, but I prefer to stop and answer questions.”

TMZ has for years attempted to push more heavily into Washington political coverage and has routinely paid independent freelancers to hang out at area airports on lawmaker fly-out days.

Some observers say while the tabloid’s foray into the political space makes for a new bit of buzz on Capitol Hill, how long the Los Angeles-based company intends to invest resources in D.C. remains to be seen.

“I just wonder if some of these politicians are famous enough for people to care about them being ‘caught’ in the way you ‘catch’ people on TMZ,” said Matt Sienkiewicz, an expert in pop culture and chair of the Boston College Communication Department. “On the other hand, news culture has moved in the direction of TMZ. From their perspective, they’re going to have to introduce people to these lawmakers and then show their affair is more interesting than the random one across the street.”

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