The celebrity news site TMZ has been following lawmakers across the country as they take two weeks off to celebrate Holy Week. While TMZ is known for being a pro-Donald Trump publication, they have also been harassing Republican lawmakers who abandoned negotiations over the funding deal for the Department of Homeland Security.
First, TMZ spotted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on a plane headed home. By Tuesday, it was discovered that Cruz was in Florida.
"It ain't Cancun, but it's close," mocked TMZ. "Cruz was spotted at the Ft. Lauderdale airport Tuesday, days after Congress threw up its collective hands and left for Spring Break."
The report noted that Cruz went from Houston, Texas, to Dallas, where he spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference, then apparently hopped over to South Florida.
A few years before that, Cruz fled to Cancún with his family when much of his state lost power and heat in a huge ice storm. He's been harassed about it ever since. In January, Cruz bailed on Texas, which was about to face an ice storm. He went to Florida in that case, too.
Podcaster and progressive Newxmax commentator Grant Stern wrote on X, "Ted must be priced out of flights to Cancun by Trump's war."
"Personally, I'm still waiting for TMZ to give the full paparazzi treatment to Glenn Grothman," mocked reporter Ben Jacobs, who's had his own run-in with hostile politicians. Grothman is a GOP lawmaker in Wisconsin.
Daily Caller reporter Ashley Brasfield cited Cruz's team responding to the reports about the boss jet-setting around the country. "As previously reported, Senator Cruz was on his way to speak at CPAC, where he has been a confirmed speaker for weeks." Brasfield noted that the staff didn't mention the Ft. Lauderdale trip
Pro-Trump AmericaFirst activist CJ Pearson commented, "Hey, at least it isn’t Cancún! That’s what we call GROWTH."
"No mercy. Everyone go back to work and sit there until the job is done. You too, Ted. No mercy for any of them," demanded "The Orange Report" host Kira Davis.
While harassing lawmakers might be funny, it isn't likely to do much to bring lawmakers back to Washington. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) could call the House back to vote on the unanimous Senate bill, but he refused to hold the vote last week, sending members home instead. President Donald Trump could also use his constitutional ability to call a joint session of Congress and require lawmakers to return. Johnson told reporters on Friday that Trump agrees with his decision to block a vote on the bipartisan Senate bill.
That said, some are happy to see TMZ make a shift to something that matters. "I know TMZ is evil, but I am a fan of them switching from covering celebrities to covering our loser govt," said one X user.
