TMZ to Vacationing Lawmakers: It's a Small World (and You Can't Hide)

Plus, Trump tells aides he is willing to end the war even if Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed Good morning. Well, this could get interesting. Last week, TMZ asked the masses to send in photos of lawmakers who are on vacation. The timing on the callout was rather, well, brilliant, as it came during huge travel snafus caused in part by Congress's refusal to deal with funding for the Department of Homeland Security. What TMZ wants, TMZ gets. And gets. And gets. The most eye-popping of the photos -- so far -- has been a collection of images showing Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) at Disney World. It published the photos under the headline "Living in Fantasyland as Government Shutdown Drags On." TMZ also published photos of what it says are a number of other traveling lawmakers, including Rep. Robert Garcia (D., Calif.) at a casino table in Las Vegas. Garcia, on X, responded to the photo release by saying he was visiting his father and "Actually I don't mind what tmz is doing here." As many lawmakers have learned, there can be a fine line between being in on the joke and the butt of it. The vast majority of Americans hold Congress in low regard, and images of vacationing lawmakers during a partial government shutdown surely aren't going to help. And this is probably only the beginning of TMZ's Congress photo project. This is an edition of the Politics newsletter, bringing you an expert guide to what's driving D.C. every day. If you're not subscribed, sign up here. The federal government's fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Some versions of yesterday's newsletter incorrectly said it begins July 1. Iran war: Follow live coverage as the U.S. dropped bunker-busting bombs on an Iranian ammunition depot and the war cuts into supplies of helium, essential for cooling AI chip-making tools and keeping MRI scanners humming. War update: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine are to hold news conference at 8 a.m. Eastern time. Trump's Tuesday: After "executive time" at 8 a.m., President Trump is to participate in policy meetings at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. He and the first lady will attend the opening night of "Chicago" at the Kennedy Center at 7:30 p.m. Trump told aides he's OK ending the war even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed. In recent days, he and his aides assessed that a mission to pry open the chokepoint would push the Iran conflict beyond his timeline of four to six weeks. He decided that the U.S. should achieve its main goals of hobbling Iran's navy and its missile stocks and wind down the hostilities, while pressing Tehran diplomatically to resume the free flow of trade. The official U.S. government hunt for proof of Trump's claim that he won the 2020 election is in full swing. The notion that Venezuela manipulated the 2020 vote and other fringe theories have gained new traction inside the White House, drawing in top officials at the Justice Department, FBI and intelligence agencies, according to U.S. officials and others involved in the effort. It is now unfolding on various fronts, with Attorney General Pam Bondi last week quietly authorizing Dan Bishop, a U.S. attorney in North Carolina, to pursue election-related probes across the country. Washington state enacted a tax on income over $1 million. The 9.9% tax -- Washington is the latest state led by Democrats to levy a tax aimed squarely at the wealthy -- will be used to fund child-care programs, free school meals, tax credits for working families and tax breaks for small businesses. Until now, Washington hasn't had any state income tax. I'm Damian Paletta, The Wall Street Journal's Washington coverage chief. I've covered Washington for 22 years as a reporter and editor. I've covered the White House, Congress, national security, the federal budget, economics and multiple market meltdowns. WSJ Politics brings you an expert guide to what's driving D.C., every weekday morning. Send your feedback to politics@wsj.com (if you're reading this in your inbox, you can just hit reply). This edition was curated and edited in collaboration with Joe Haberstroh and Michael Connolly. Got a tip for us? Here's how to submit.