Single congressman's trove of 'creepy' intern photos sparks humiliating Capitol Hill whispers: 'Beyond strange'

By JON MICHAEL RAASCH, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT and VICTORIA CHURCHILL, US POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 20:44, 18 June 2026 | Updated: 20:53, 18 June 2026 A single Republican congressman with a penchant for photo shoots with young interns is raising eyebrows on Capitol Hill.  Arizona congressman Abe Hamadeh, 35, an unmarried freshman in the House of Representatives, can be seen grinning over the shoulder of his interns in campaign pictures that have been brutally mocked on social media. 'Congressman Hamadeh's office has an outstanding trio of interns - Brock, Ella, and Ria - who are doing a great job serving Arizona's 8th District every day,' the post introducing new staffers reads. The post was to highlight how the interns could bring constituents on tours around Capitol Hill, but the striking images caught the attention of many other senior staffers. The images, which some online derided as 'creepy', show the interns perched in the foreground with the congressman sitting at his desk behind them.  Propped up on his desk are challenge coins and the decor around him looks strikingly similar to the Oval Office. 'A lot of people around the Hill view it as kind of an embarrassment,' one House GOP aide said of the photo ops.  'The intern photo shoots, staff explaining the member's votes, and the overall vibe often make it feel more like a social media internship program than a congressional office,' they added.  Intern Ella Dudley poses for a photo with her boss Congressman Abe Hamadeh Ria, one of the interns, poses alongside her boss in the now-viral photo shoot Hamadeh also received backlash for a TikTok post which some users branded 'cringe', showing him and his interns crossing their arms and posing in slow motion on the Capitol's balcony.  'Congressional looksmaxxing on the top of the Capitol Building,' a caption read on screen as the lawmaker and his staff struck poses.   'It's weird to say the least,' another senior House GOP aide told the Daily Mail. 'It's beyond strange,' a senior Democratic House staffer shared.  A fourth GOP House aide posited: 'It's definitely an unconventional way to celebrate interns.' The Syrian-American has served since January 2025 and comes from a family that fled oppression in the Middle East before settling in Phoenix. His father, Jamal Hamadeh, arrived in 1989 on a visitor visa, which he overstayed by nearly seven years, according AZCentral.  The congressman was born in Illinois in 1991. Five years later, his father successfully fought a deportation order, citing his family situation and two US-born children as a reason to stay, reports state. Hamadeh worked as a prosecutor in Maricopa County and served in the US Army Reserve for six years before narrowly losing the 2022 Arizona Attorney General election by fewer than 300 votes.  He received critical backing from President Trump and won the 2024 election to fill Arizona's 8th congressional district, a reliably red district, becoming the first Arab-American elected in the state.  Republican House aides said the photo shoots and media strategy Hamadeh's office has employed is strange and bizarre  'They say we're unconventional. I say we get results,' the Republican posted on social media alongside this photo showing him with 11 staffers Hamadeh worked as a prosecutor in Maricopa County and served in the US Army Reserve for six years Hamadeh poses for a photo in his office with a State Department official 'They say we're unconventional. I say we get results,' the Republican posted alongside 11 staffers.  In it, his office can be seen with golden trappings and curtains reminiscent of Trump's recently remodeled Oval Office. The many presidential paintings that adorn the walls also invoke the executive office, and of course, a Trump portrait also hangs. 'I feel as though his office is trying to replicate the Oval,' one of the House aides said. 'I find it all so bizarre.' The interns seem fine with the exposure. On Wednesday, Ella and Brock starred in a defiant TikTok video showing them mockingly covering their eyes, captioned: 'How the haters want us to react after 1.5 million people saw our super patriotic, [fire emoji] office photos.' Ria has not appeared in any content since the internet backlash over the office photos. One of Hamadeh's former interns, 19-year-old Nico Delgado, defended the photoshoot on X, writing that they're 'pretty normal intern photos.' Delgado interned for Hamadeh's campaign and congressional office before being promoted to special assistant to the congressman. 'Why do people get so angry when stuff looks nice?' the 19-year-old ex-special assistant added.  Ex-Hamadeh special assistant Nico Delgado, 19, posed for seemingly the original intern photo shoot last fall. He defended his former boss's photo shoot on X, writing: 'They're 'pretty normal intern photos' Delgado and Hamadeh pictured together in 2022, three years before the young political activist interned for the congressman The teenager left the congressman's office in February, and now runs an activist group called NicoPAC. Delgado declined to comment.  Delgado appears in yet another intern photograph from September 2025, where Hamadeh is again seen over the staffer's shoulder, showing off his then-smaller challenge coin collection.  Others online also shared their support for Hamadeh's promotion of his interns, with one Arizona resident writing: 'Have said this before, but it's very cool that [Hamadeh] gives his interns and younger aides praise and face-time. Not what these jobs are usually like. Really unique on Capitol Hill.' House Republicans have narrow chances of retaining the majority come November's midterms as many voters have soured on Trump and the Republicans' whole-hearted embrace of the President's agenda.  Democrats have a 77 percent chance of retaking control of the House in November, according to the prediction market Kalshi on Wednesday.  Hamadeh's office did not respond to a Daily Mail request for comment.   No comments have so far been submitted. 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