Good morning. Rain today with a high around 70 and thunderstorms possible later on. More rain is likely overnight, with a low near 56. Sports this weekend: The Capitals host Chicago tonight and will visit the Islanders on Sunday. (Alex Ovechkin is three goals away from Wayne Gretzky‘s record.) The Nationals will host Arizona today, tomorrow, and Sunday. The Seattle Seawolves will visit Old Glory DC on Saturday evening. The DC Defenders will host the Memphis Showboats at Audi Field on Saturday. The Wizards visit Boston this Sunday. D.C. United will be at San Jose on Sunday. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below.
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I can’t stop listening to:
Deftones, “Change (In the House of Flies).” Why does this band still play stadiums while other nü metal bands from their era would be lucky to land a state fair gig? I can only note that half of the Gen-Z kids who live in my house adore this group, which must have something to do with: 1) the band’s still-fresh mixture of shoegaze and metal; and 2) TikTok. Deftones play Capital One Arena Sunday.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
Call of duties: Financial markets suffered their worst day since 2020 after President Trump imposed tariffs on just about everything the US imports. Economists said a recession is ever more likely. Trump said, “I think it’s going very well,” and his administration portrayed the financial bloodbath as temporary. (WSJ) “President Donald Trump on Thursday contradicted his top aides on the purpose of his sprawling new global tariff regime, adding to the uncertainty over the trade war that has sent markets reeling.” (Washington Post) “The immediate reaction raised a question that few Republicans were eager to answer: What would it take for them to pull the plug on Trump’s tariff campaign? How bad would the markets have to get?” (Politico) US Senator Chuck Grassley co-sponsored a bill “that would reassert Congress’ authority over tariffs amid President Donald Trump’s trade war escalation.” (Politico) The legislation would make tariffs expire after 60 days unless Congress approves them. (NBC News) How did the administration calculate its tariffs? Apparently it used “an oversimplified calculation that several major AI chatbots happen to recommend.” (The Verge) My retirement plans took a hit, too: The price of Mega Millions tickets is about to go up. (WUSA9)
Health is other people: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said HHS had reinstated some programs and would un-fire some people after this week’s massive cuts. (ABC News) How many of those RIFs were made in error? About 20 percent, Kennedy said. (CBS News) A federal judge blocked HHS from terminating some grants to states. (NYT) The US Senate confirmed Mehmet Oz as the leader of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Politico)
Okay Loomer: “The White House fired at least five key aides on the National Security Council staff Thursday, a day after the far-right activist Laura Loomer visited the Oval Office and urged President Donald Trump to remove certain people whose views she deemed disloyal.” (Washington Post) Two top officials at NSA were also replaced, apparently at Loomer’s suggestion as well. (Washington Post) General Timothy Haugh, who ran NSA, was “also seen by the Trump administration as moving too slowly on its mandate to eliminate diversity programs.” (NYT)
Administration perambulation: “Several states were notified this morning that the federal grant funding they rely on to operate local libraries and museums has been terminated.” (NBC News) Brown University is the latest Ivy League school in the administration’s crosshairs. (NYT) The administration placed most of the Wilson Center’s employees on leave yesterday as Elon Musk‘s DOGE project works to shut down the center. (NYT) Democrats in 19 states filed the fourth court action against Trump’s executive order about elections. (AP) Some federal agencies are telling employees they may be fired at will, invoking the “Schedule F” plan of Trump’s first term. (Government Executive) HUD wants out of its building, may leave the DC area. (City Lab) Kirkland & Ellis is looking to make a deal with the administration. (WSJ) The Pentagon’s inspector general is looking into Signalgate. (Politico) Cultural groups around the country have lost grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. (NYT) Ric Grenell reportedly berated a staffer for US Representative Jamie Raskin after Raskin sent a letter asking the administration about any role it might have played in bringing Andrew Tate and his brother to the US. (NOTUS) The Justice Department will allow Mel Gibson to have guns. (NYT)
One snazzy open house this weekend
This five bedroom, three point five bathroom townhouse near Lincoln Park features exposed brick, oak flooring, a new deck, and a lower-level in-law suite. See more good open houses this weekend.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Here’s what you need to know about the big anti-Trump protest planned for tomorrow in DC.
• Restaurant owners are concerned about the local economy, but that alarming recent Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington survey probably overstated how likely many are to close.
• Chai Pani, a buzzy Asheville, North Carolina, Indian restaurant, is coming to DC.
• Kid-friendly Easter events around town.
• Could DC’s time with Elon Musk be drawing to a close?
• A diamond the color of blood has appeared in town. Don’t worry about it.
Local news links:
• Abigail Spanberger will be the Democratic nominee in this year’s Virginia gubernatorial race. She’s likely to face Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears. (Politico)
• A giant inflatable representation of Mars rolled away from the Kennedy Center yesterday. (Washingtonian Problems) The center says the planet is part of a display at the REACH and the heavenly body is back under control. (Fox 5 DC)
• The National Park Service is working to end to the reversible lanes on Rock Creek Parkway. (Washington Post)
• The District is impounding the cars of “high-dollar scofflaws.” (NBC 4 Washington)
• Air traffic controllers at National Airport will get counseling and other services after a near-miss and a fistfight in the control tower. (AP)
• A watchdog group said staff at DC’s Youth Services Center “used choke holds on kids, pinned them to the ground using their adult bodyweight, and, in at least one case, appeared to punch at the boy’s face or shoulders repeatedly while staff members restrained his arms and legs.” (WCP)
• Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, the DC church that now owns the Proud Boys’ trademarks, is selling shirts that look like the group’s trademark wear but with slogans like “Stay Proud, Stay Black.” (AP)
• DC cops charged two people with defacing Teslas, saying they’d engaged in hate speech by doing so. (DC News Now) Another Tesla in disguise spotted. (PoPville)
• Eugene Robinson will leave the Washington Post. (Ben Mullin)
• Did Arlington invent the blogger? (ARLnow)
• Wawa could open as many as 20 new locations in Northern Virginia. (WBJ)
Weekend event picks:
Friday: Awesome Con kicks off at the convention center, with Orlando Bloom, Ming-Na Wen, and Elder Scrolls voice actor Wes Johnson (who is from Arlington!) among the celebrity guests.
Saturday: Petalpalooza takes over the Capitol Riverfront with family-friendly activities.
Sunday: Legendary record producer Joe Boyd talks about his new book at Politics and Prose.
Bonus event picks from me: Glen E. Friedman and Ian MacKaye will discuss Friedman’s new book of Bad Brains photographs at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in DC. Details here. “Frida: Beyond the Myth” opens in Richmond this weekend. More here.
See lots more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.
Did you miss our 100 Very Best Restaurants List? It’s here.
The weekend awaits! See you Monday.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
