Good morning. Mostly sunny today, with light winds and highs near 89. Partly cloudy with lows around 72 tonight.
Weekend sports: The Nationals will visit the Milwaukee Brewers all weekend. DC United will play the Galaxy in Los Angeles tomorrow night. Loudoun United FC will visit the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Sunday evening. The Washington Freedom will play a still-undetermined team on Sunday night. The Mystics will face off against the Seattle Storm on Sunday, in the other Washington.
Washingtonian Today editor Andrew Beaujon will be back from vacation on Monday. Thank you for having me! You can still find me on Bluesky, I’m @kmcorliss.19 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below.
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A great book on my nightstand:
“Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston. I still remember how this book—A coming-of-age novel born from the Harlem Renaissance—made me cry practically to the point of dry-heaving during 12th-grade English class. I’m rereading it now because I felt like having an emotional weekend, and I’m finding strange and immense comfort in the line: “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.”
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
Whistleblowin’ in the wind: Fifteen-year Justice Department veteran Erez Reuveni, who was fired in the spring after he told a judge that Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia had been deported by mistake, is sounding the alarm on the Trump administration’s efforts to bolster the claim that Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang. (New Republic) Leaked texts and emails reveal that Emil Bove, a high-ranking DOJ official who worked on pardoning January 6 convicts and dropping federal corruption charges against New York City mayor Eric Adams, intended to ignore any court orders that would halt deportation flights to CECOT—the prison in El Salvador where Garcia spent nearly three months. (NOTUS)
A line break—we’re gonna need one: Reuveni has previously alleged that Bove told DOJ attorneys that they might have to say “fuck you” to judges who tried to hinder the administration’s immigration agenda; Bove denied encouraging his colleagues to defy court orders at his confirmation hearing last month, but pulled an “I don’t recall” when pressed specifically about his use of the expletive. But leaked text records show that after federal judge James Boasberg ordered the termination of an in-progress deportation flight of 130 Venezuelans to El Salvador on March 15, Bove messaged an unnamed coworker: “Guess we are going to say ‘fuck you’ to the court. Super.” Trump has nominated Bove to serve on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia; the Senate Judiciary Committee is likely to confirm him, especially now that Senator Thom Tillis has indicated his support. (Politico) You can read the leaked texts and emails here and here.
And one more thing: ICE officials told a federal court in Greenbelt that Garcia could be deported to Mexico or South Sudan if he’s freed from the Tennessee jail in which he’s currently incarcerated. (AP)
More immigration news: A federal judge in New Hampshire has blocked Trump’s executive order to restrict birthright citizenship, despite the Supreme Court’s recent ruling to limit the authority of federal courts to hold up his policies via nationwide injunctions. (Reuters) Columbia University grad student Mahmoud Khalil, now free from immigration jail, is suing the Trump administration for $20 million. (AP) Wives of Alligator Alcatraz detainees say their husbands are living in terrible conditions: “Toilets that didn’t flush. Temperatures that went from freezing to sweltering. A hospital visit. Giant bugs. And little or no access to showers or toothbrushes, much less confidential calls with attorneys.” (Miami Herald) ICE agents handcuffed and detained a 71-year-old US citizen at a Southern California immigration court on Wednesday. (NBC San Diego)
Tariff up my heart: Trump said yesterday that he’ll raise blanket tariffs, which are currently set at 10 percent, on most of America’s trade partners to 15 or 20 percent. (NBC News) He also threatened to slap a 35 percent tax on Canadian imports. (CNN)
Summer school: The administration has opened a second civil rights investigation into George Mason University over alleged affirmative action practices in its hiring process; the school is already being probed about supposed antisemitism on campus. (Washington Post) Harvard is pondering the establishment of a center for conservative studies. (WSJ) The Department of Homeland Security just subpoenaed the university for data on its international students, while the Education and Health and Human Services Departments are challenging its accreditation. (NYT)
Administration perambulation: Trump is set to meet with the families of flood victims, as well as first responders, in Texas today; despite recent comments from both the president and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the administration’s plans to restructure FEMA, a White House official says no official action is being taken to do so. (Washington Post) The Justice Department has subpoenaed more than 20 doctors and hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to minors, seeking confidential medical information on patients. (NYT) The State Department could start laying off employees as early as today in an effort to shrink its workforce by about 15 percent. (CBS) FBI Director Kash Patel has reportedly revved up the agency’s use of polygraph testing to gauge employee loyalty. (NYT) The grand opening of Executive Branch, a private Georgetown club spearheaded by Donald Trump Jr. et al., attracted a crowd of senior administration officials and an assortment of MAGA sycophants. Many lobbyists skipped the party, concerned about how it would look for them to pay the $500,000 membership fee. “Several described a sweet spot of making $3 million to $5 million a year, but staying off the radar. Trump’s 2024 co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita, summed up the strategy to friends: ‘Pigs get fat, and hogs get slaughtered.’ ” (WSJ) Trump has nominated manosphere influencer Nick Adams, who fancies himself an “alpha male” because he likes to eat steak and go to Hooters, for ambassador to Malaysia. (NYT)
One snazzy open house this weekend:
Priced at $2.75 million, this renovated and expanded midcentury-modern house in Alexandria was originally built in 1959. With 4,200 square-feet of living space, the light-filled listing boasts a private patio and custom walk-in closet. See more of Lindsey Byman‘s weekend open house picks here.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Our food team dishes on what local restaurants they’re loving lately in this month’s Hot List.
• Wonder, a food hall of sorts that houses 21 different restaurant concepts under one roof, has opened its first DC outpost on 14th Street.
• A couple restored this cool house in Chevy Chase.
• A local lawyer wants to make election betting the new thing.
• Play these six new indoor games around DC.
Local news links:
• Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen has convinced his colleagues on the Senate Appropriations Committee to block funding for the Trump administration’s plan to keep the FBI headquarters in DC, ensuring that the money can only be used to build the planned campus in Greenbelt. (Washington Post)
• As a major tenant rights bill moves through the DC Council, Ward 8 residents have no representation. (Washington City Paper)
• Thanks to National Park Service cuts, Assateague Island doesn’t have lifeguards this year. (Axios)
• Amid federal workforce purges, Virginia lost its top spot on CNBC’s “Top State for Business” ranking. It’s now at No. 4. (Washington Post)
• Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld, who used to lead Metro, will step down at the end of this month. (WTOP)
• DC United has fired coach Troy Lesesne. (ESPN)
• Police have named a suspect in the Southeast shooting death of 3-year-old Honesty Cheadle. (Washington Post)
• George Washington was spotted at Metro Center. (Washingtonian Problems)
Weekend event picks:
• Friday: Celebrate Bastille Day at the Embassy of France with Parisian food, wine, and live music.
• Saturday: The two-day Latin music festival Todo Sonido kicks off at Wolf Trap.
• Sunday: Partake in a scavenger hunt, tune into a museum curator talk, and more at Planet Word’s Curiosity Day.
See more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.
We’re now taking suggestions for this year’s “Most Powerful Women” list. You can nominate someone here. Know someone we should consider for our Tech Titans feature this year? Put their name forward here. Did you miss our 100 Very Best Restaurants List? It’s here.
