When US federal workers were missing paychecks and the partial government shutdown entered its seventh week, Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, was doing what any responsible lawmaker would do: riding Space Mountain and carrying a bubble wand at Disney World in Florida.

Naturally, TMZ had photos of the vacationing senator on its homepage a few days later.

The celebrity tabloid empire – better known for staking out actors and artists outside restaurants, gas stations, courthouses and their palatial estates – has turned its paparazzi prowess on a new and maybe equally chaotic subject: the US Congress. And America’s lawmakers may find themselves uniquely ill-equipped for the Hollywood experience.

The outlet last week put out a public call for tips on lawmaker sightings as the partial government shutdown dragged on, leaving thousands of Department of Homeland Security employees without pay.