About Washingtonian Today
Washingtonian Today is not just another political news roundup. Instead, this daily morning brief provides local context on national news, catches you up on what’s happening at Washingtonian, points you toward super duper awesome things to do around town, and lets you in on some special events going on in-house. Sign up here to receive Washingtonian Today in your inbox every morning.
Need some last-minute holiday shopping? Looks like Donald Trump Jr. has you covered. The Trump Store’s right in the middle of its Christmas sale, according to Junior’s Twitter. Have a spouse who just loves to cry “Fake news!” when confronted with conflict? Perhaps treat them to a $185 leather Trump Football or, if they’ve recently read up on the investigation into the Trump family’s tax schemes, maybe a Trump gold bar coin bank with an “iconic Trump Clock Magnet” is a better choice. I suppose you need something to count down the days until the Mueller probe wraps.
You’re Gonna Like The Way He Looks—I Guarantee It*: A lot of people were pointing out White House advisor Stephen Miller’s, well, surprising hair growth during an appearance Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation. There were plenty of memes. All I’ll say here is that, Stephen, if you need a good wig hookup, I’m your girl.
* Frankly, I could never guarantee such a thing.
Hi, good morning, and happy Monday. I’m Brittany Shepherd, the author of this morning newsletter. How was your weekend? I got hooked on Frasier during a weekend marathon. Feel free to contact me at bshepherd@washingtonian.com or find me on Twitter. Sign up for this newsletter here and you’ll always be very legal and very cool.
Over the weekend, one of our wonderful editorial fellows, Lautaro Grinspan, danced the night away at the Embassy of Argentina’s holiday soirée. Here’s Lautaro’s dispatch:
Embassy-holiday-party season (my favorite time of the year) is in full swing and, as native Argentine, I couldn’t miss the Embassy of Argentina’s fête on Saturday night. Kicking off the event was a photo shoot with Santa Claus, or Papa Noel, in front of a Christmas tree and a large Argentine flag. In my photo with him, Santa didn’t smile, curiously opting instead for the fulminating, brooding look of a professional tango dancer mid-routine. Later on came a couple of glasses of Malbec, an array of Argentine snacks (“nothing compared to the food back home,” I would tsk tsk while still grabbing four of everything), a folklore singing performance and a short tango show. After the tangoing wrapped up, the Embassy’s elegant ballroom played host to a dance party that had guests bopping along until 11 PM, when the music stopped, the lights turned on, and everyone was ushered away from dancey Argentina and back to rainy DC.
Question: Is public service secretly a writers-in-residence program? I only ask because there’s yet another political book coming out: Politico reports John Boehner’s got a memoir tentatively titled Notes From a Smoke-Filled Room about his decades-long career in Washington.
And now in political traffic news… Former FBI director James Comey is returning to Capitol Hill today. Plan your trips, leaks, and tweets accordingly.
What we have cooking at Washingtonian:
- Ted Cruz‘s kind-of hot facial hair has us so upset that we gave beards to other DC figures to see if it would make us feel better. So far it isn’t working.
- Two sisters dominated DC’s honky-tonk scene a half-century ago. Here’s some of the story of the forgotten hillbilly culture of Washington.
- Tod Lindberg has been involved with The Weekly Standard since its beginning. Now he says goodbye.
- Roy Boys will bring fried chicken and oysters to Shaw—maybe a new fav brunch combo?
- Women are getting more major leadership roles in DC’s museums.
- Cooking is overrated. Eat out on Christmas at any of these local haunts.
- The Shay says it finally knows what kind of businesses work there.
Our pick for things to do around town:
LECTURE Learn about the darker lore surrounding the holidays at the Profs & Pints “Nightmares Before Christmas” lecture at the Bier Baron. Johns Hopkins humanities professor William Egginton will talk about Krampus, the horned demon who accompanies St. Nick in central Europe; he’ll also touch on the pagan roots of the Christmas holiday and the Grinch. $12, 6 PM.
Good reads:
Real-life witches want Trump to stop calling the Mueller Probe a “witch hunt,” Will Sommer reports. (Daily Beast)
Big events from Washingtonian
Every year, Washingtonian hosts several photo contests, and we’re looking to you to help determine which contest we host in 2019. Vote for the photo contest you’d like to participate in.
Brittany Shepherd covers the societal and cultural scene in political Washington. Before joining Washingtonian as a staff writer in 2018, Brittany was a White House Correspondent for Independent Journal Review. While she has lived in DC for a number of years now, she still yearns for the fresh Long Island bagels of home. Find her on Twitter, often prattling on about Frasier.
