Good morning. Mostly sunny with a high around 84 today. A low around 66 overnight. The Nats host the Athletics again this afternoon. 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:
Luke Bryan, “Country Song Came On.” An immaculately produced tribute to the simple pleasure of hearing a song that you didn’t know you needed. I hope this newsletter can provide you all with that feeling every now and then. Luke Bryan plays Merriweather Post Pavilion tonight with George Birge, Cole Goodwin, Mae Estes, and DJ Rock.
Take Washingtonian Today with you! I’ve made a playlist on Spotify and on Apple Music of my daily music recommendations this year.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
Heavy duties: President Trump‘s tariffs went into effect at midnight. Some countries will see their rates rise to as high as 39 percent. (Washington Post) “As a result, prices have started to climb.” (NYT) Trump said he’d impose a 100 percent tax on computer chips, unless manufacturers make plans to manufacture them in the US. (AP) Trump’s trade war “has inflicted almost $12 billion of losses on global automakers.” (WSJ) The President’s stated goal for the tariffs is to bring more manufacturing to the US, but “Economic activity tied to manufacturing has shrunk for most of Trump’s second term.” (WSJ)
Epstein summit canceled: A planned meeting of Trump administration heavyweights at the Vice President’s residence to discuss how to tackle the administration’s Jeffrey Epstein crisis last night was reportedly canceled. (Reuters) The dinner was seen as an opportunity for Vice President JD Vance to try to smooth things over between Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, who are said to be feuding over the matter. (CNN)
O say, canoe see: Vance’s staff reportedly had the level of an Ohio river raised by the Army Corps of Engineers while the veep was on a paddling expedition for his birthday, raising questions “about whether Vance’s office was potentially exploiting public infrastructure resources for his personal recreation.” (The Guardian)
Secrets out: In her zeal to release a report about the Russian interference in the 2016 election, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, with Trump’s approval, “overrode arguments from the CIA and other intelligence agencies that more of the document should remain classified to obscure U.S. spy agencies’ sources and methods.” (Washington Post) “The declassified version of the report included relatively few redactions, and it included references to eavesdropping and ‘an established clandestine’ human source with insights into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s view of the U.S. presidential contest.” (NBC News) “The Gabbard Files are hanging the awfully serious allegation of a ‘treasonous coup’ on nothing of substance.” (Lawfare)
More document news: The Library of Congress’s annotated online version of the US Constitution omitted Article 1, Section 9—the right of habeas corpus, which some Trump officials involved in immigration enforcement take a dim view of. (Rolling Stone) The LOC said a “coding error” was to blame for the deletion. (Axios)
Administration perambulation: The VA “moved to strip labor protections for more than 400,000 of its workers” yesterday. (NYT) Hackers got into the federal judiciary’s electronic case-filing system, affecting CM/ECF and PACER. (Politico) “Leaked drafts of the State Department’s long-delayed annual human rights reports indicate that the Trump administration intends to dramatically scale back U.S. government criticism of certain foreign nations with extensive records of abuse.” (Washington Post) The White House has “suspended $584 million in federal grants for UCLA.” (NBC News) The DOJ sought sanctions against a California lawyer who took a pro bono immigration case. (Politico) Health Secretary RFK Jr. said Trump calls him often to ask “Why aren’t people healthier yet?” (Mediaite) Trump has spoken with his onetime bête noire Andrew Cuomo about the New York City mayoral election in which Cuomo trails Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani. The President, a longtime NYC resident who now calls Florida home, is considering getting involved in the race. (NYT) Miss United States Lindsey Langston told authorities that US Representative Cory Mills, a Republican from Florida, threatened to “make public sex videos and nude pictures of her” after their relationship soured. (New York Post) Mills is in a safe Republican district, so GOP leaders aren’t likely to engage. (Politico) Laura Loomer said she’s known as “Trump’s Rasputin.” (The Daily Beast) Dean Cain, who is 59, said he joined ICE. (USA Today)
Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen:
The star of the show at JD Bar & Restaurant, an Annandale Ethiopian spot, is an extremely beefy sampler platter of gored gored (cubed raw beef tossed in spiced butter), kitfo (spiced beef tartare), geba weta (sauteed spicy beef), and gomen besiga (collard greens with beef). But even if you skip the carnivorous option, there are plenty of reasons to show up here: live Ethiopian pop, a bustling roadhouse atmosphere, and the veggie combo, a rainbow of beets, lentils, cabbage, and collards. (6669 Little River Turnpike, Annandale.)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• You’ll flip for our new ultimate guide to burgers in the DC area, which includes:
🍔 The 30 best burgers in the region.
🍔 Expert advice on making your own.
🍔 6 unexpected spins on the cheeseburger
• The exodus of talent at the Washington Post is “gutting,” but some staffers say they’re cautiously hopeful about the future.
• What could Trump actually do if he wanted to take over DC?
• Recently spotted canoodling: Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster at Bar Angie on Friday.
• What is the deal with those 75-cent sodas in the Capitol?
• This wedding had an intimate, European-dinner-in-the-summer vibe.
• We got a whiff of the corpse flower.
Local news links:
• Trump threatened to deploy DC’s National Guard and to take over the District’s police force, saying “The crime is ridiculous” in the capital. (Washington Post)
• Prosecutors may seek the death penalty for Elias Rodriguez, who is accused of fatally shooting Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in May. (Washington Post)
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will restore a Confederate monument at Arlington National Cemetery, the second monument to traitors who started a bloody civil war in a futile attempt to preserve slavery that the administration plans to bring back to the area. (AP/WTOP)
• A computer outage affected United flights out of National Airport yesterday evening, causing cascading delays. (WUSA9) 6 percent of flights out of National have been canceled due to weather so far this summer, compared with 1.6 percent during the same period last year. (ARLnow)
• Police arrested two Californians they said had scammed an elderly woman out of more than $640,000. (WTOP)
• Dialog, a secretive association for elites founded by Peter Thiel and Auren Hoffman, plans to buy a campus in Virginia. (Axios)
• Fairfax County Public Schools plans to hire a bodyguard for superintendent Michelle Reid following threats. (Washington Post)
• Arlington police say the costs of removing anti-fascism graffiti from traffic signs have cost thousands of dollars. (ARLnow)
Thursday’s event picks:
• David Levithan and Jens Lekman will discuss their book “Songs for Other People’s Weddings” at Politics and Prose.
• A jazz soirée awaits you at Phillips after 5. Music by Lyle Link, Jackson Dunkin, and DJ John Murph is on tap.
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. 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.
