Channeling his inner Willy Wonka, President Trump passed out M&Ms, peanut butter cups, and Butterfingers during his meeting with Congressional leaders yesterday. While the missed opportunity to use 100 Grand Bars haunts me still, no amount of chocolate could convince Democrats to meet his demands they fund a border wall. (According to the WSJ, Trump “put his hands in the air—two open palms on either side of his face—and said, “Bye-bye,” and left the room”). And thus we solemnly chug along into Day 20 of the partial shutdown.
We’re going to have to talk about Jeff Bezos’s reported affair with former So You Think You Can Dance host Lauren Sanchez. Finally, DC has tabloid news once again. As reported by Page Six and the National Enquirer, Bezos and Sanchez met through Sanchez’s celeb agent ex-husband and worked together at Bezos’s aerospace company Blue Origin. The Enquirer says it has photos taken during a four-month, multi-state investigation. But in true tabloid style, you’re going to have to buy the print to see them. What do you think this means for Bezos’s DC social life? I’m hesitant to think it would cause major shockwaves—affairs are nothing new, well, anywhere, especially not in Washington, DC, where people are so squarely focused on their own agendas that trysts like this seem to not set off their moral alarms. I suppose this means we won’t be seeing the Washington Post owner at the Chevy Chase Lounge looking to meet a date. (But maybe he can take his new beau out to one of these romantic restaurants.)
It’s Thursday. Hooray! I’m your Congressional candy correspondent, Brittany Shepherd. Email me with comments or questions and follow me on Twitter. Sign up for this newsletter here.
Some good news for furloughed employees—you can now get free tickets to George Washington University basketball games, according to the GW Hatchet. Raise high!
Cap Weather Gang says high chances of snow this weekend and very unfun wind for today and tomorrow—so bundle up and maybe prep to work from home on Monday?
What we have cooking at Washingtonian:
- The rise of CBD oil, legal betting, and millennials going underground: here are our staff’s predictions for what’s coming in 2019.
- Believe it or not, DC has a sushi chef shortage.
- Thank you, Ted Cruz, for allowing us content creators to become digital Rumpelstiltskins of sorts by spinning news cycles with your facial hair.
- Make your next meal hearty Nepalese dumplings in chili sauce, and four other things our food editors recommend this month.
- The Bird is closing—and saying goodbye to its Trump-themed specials.
- Spend your snowless Saturday morning checking out these five gorg open houses.
Our pick for things to do around town:
BEER If you don’t know where to start with all the different styles of beer, check out the Beer! Drink & Learn event at City Winery. Learn about beer history and styles and try a colorful flight of local brews: a pilsner from Lost Rhino, a red ale from Evolution, an IPA from 3 Stars, and a stout from Atlas. 21+ only. $28, 6:30 PM.
Good reads:
The National Weather Service is still operating 24/7 with no paychecks in sight, Angela Fritz reports. If the shutdown continues into February, one meteorologist says she’ll have to start dipping into her retirement funds. (Washington Post)
Big events from Washingtonian
You’re engaged?! Celebrate with us at Love Unveiled, the ultimate wedding showcase for all couples on January 27 at Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC. Visit washingtonian.com/unveiled for tickets before it sells out!
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.
