Good morning. Scattered showers with a high around 76. Also, humidity is back, yay. More rain possible overnight, with a low around 64. The Nationals will visit the Braves again tonight. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below.
This roundup is now available as a morning email newsletter. Sign up here.
I can’t stop listening to:
Hamilton Leithauser, “Knockin’ Heart.” A simply beautiful, highly caffeinated love song from the former Walkmen singer’s fab new solo album. Leithauser, who grew up in DC, plays the Atlantis tonight with Greg Freeman.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
D’Oh-GE: Elon Musk‘s DOGE project removed claims that it canceled certain federal contracts after the New York Times reported agencies had revived them. (NYT) DOGE revised its claims of real estate savings, cutting them by more than half, but the new number “continues to overstate its work.” (NOTUS) DOGE has claimed it would cut a third of the federal budget, but “has yet to find a fraction” of that amount. (FT) Monday’s showdown at the US Copyright Office represents a fissure between Trump’s tech-world supporters and the wider MAGA movement. (The Verge)
Cleaving on a jet plane: GOP senators Ted Cruz, John Thune, and Rand Paul criticized President Trump‘s plan to accept a plane from Qatar. (Politico) They joined a chorus of other senators with concerns. (WSJ) Prominent online MAGA commenters Laura Loomer, Ben Shapiro, and Mark Levin bagged on the plane deal as well. Shapiro criticized the Trump family’s crypto ventures, too, saying, “this kind of skeezy stuff needs to stop.” (Axios) Trump told Sean Hannity that Air Force One is “much less impressive” than the planes of other nations. (NYT) “Qatar’s influence in Washington is arguably at its strongest point since its independence in 1971.” (The Free Press)
Speaking of Laura Loomer: The far-right influencer who appears to have Trump’s ear is being criticized by MAGA and MAHA types who claim she’s “running a modern-day payola scheme—posting about certain topics, and making certain attacks, for the right price.” (The Bulwark)
Judge dread: A grand jury indicted Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan yesterday. Prosecutors say she helped a man accused of being in the country illegally avoid federal agents. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) “The arrest of the judge marked an escalation of the Trump administration’s warnings that local officials must not impede federal efforts to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.” (NYT)
Tariffs: The consumer price index rose modestly last month, but economists say the real pain from Trump’s tariffs is on the way. (WSJ) China, Russia, and Iran are studying Trump’s climb-downs in tariff negotiations carefully, “sharpening their tactics based on Mr. Trump’s patterns and his unapologetically transactional attitude toward diplomacy.” (NYT)
Immigration: While administration officials have claimed the US won’t help Kilmar Abrego García, the Maryland resident it mistakenly deported to El Salvador, the government says in court filings that it “was working to secure Abrego Garcia’s return.” (HuffPost) A federal judge in Pennsylvania said the administration could use the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans accused of being gang members. Other judges have barred the practice. (AP) Twenty states sued after the administration said it would “withhold billions in funding unless the states followed its demands on immigration enforcement.” (NYT)
Administration perambulation: A “struggling technology company that has ties to China” and posted no revenue last year said it would buy $300 million of Trump’s memecoin. (NYT) DNI Tulsi Gabbard fired members of the National Intelligence Council. (Fox News) The EPA will rescind limits on chemicals in drinking water. (Washington Post)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• A bakery tucked away in a Herndon strip mall serves one of the region’s best South Indian breakfasts.
• Lucky Danger’s new full-service spot in Penn Quarter will feature a mahjong-and-whisky bar hidden in the back.
Local news links:
I hereby sentence you to being the subject of a press release: Former interim US Attorney for DC Ed Martin says that in his new job at the Justice Department, he’ll “shame” people the department cannot charge with crimes. (NBC News) Martin criticized the DC Council as he left office. (WTOP) Jeanine Pirro will be sworn in as Martin’s replacement today. (Washington Post)
• Federal officials claim they arrested 189 people during a recent immigration crackdown in DC, though they also say the “inspections” of DC restaurants yielded no arrests. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (WUSA9) ” The DOJ said in its initial press release that D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department was involved in the crackdown. But the release was later revised to remove MPD.” (Axios D.C.)
• DC Mayor Muriel Bowser may face a rematch with Councilmember Robert White if she decides to run again. (WAMU)
• An excerpt from Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson‘s book about Joe Biden‘s decision to run again. (The New Yorker)
• Protesters disrupted a House budget hearing yesterday, and police arrested 26 people. (Politico)
• DC’s plan to ban phones in schools may be pushed back by more than a year. (WUSA9)
• A warehouse fire in Baltimore disrupted Northeast train service. (NBC4 Washington)
• The Commanders will play a regular season game in Spain this November. (Washington Post)
• Virginia is on track to lose 32,000 jobs due to federal cuts, a report says. (Axios Richmond)
• Yvonne Rorrer, a candidate for a Virginia House of Delegates seat, announced that she’s a swinger. (HuffPost)
• King Street Oyster Bar has abandoned plans for a Pentagon City location. (ARLnow)
• Nikita Ramakrishnan, an eighth grader from Chantilly, will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee later this month. (NBC4 Washington)
• A Metro stop was featured on “Jeopardy!” (WMATA)
Wednesday’s event picks:
• Spoken word hip-hop legends the Last Poets commemorate the upcoming 100th anniversary of Malcolm X‘s birth at the Black Cat.
• Generation Women DC, a multigenerational storytelling series, brings “Pillow Talk: Stories of Love & Lust” to the Speakeasy at Capo Deli.
See more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.
Know someone we should consider for our Tech Titans feature this year? Nominate them here. Did you miss our 100 Very Best Restaurants List? It’s here.
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.
