Good morning. Heat and humidity make a return today, with a high around 90. A low near 71 overnight.
Sports this weekend: The Nationals will visit the Cubs all weekend. D.C. United will host Orlando City on Saturday. The Washington Commanders will kick off their regular season Sunday with a home game against the New York Giants. The Mystics will host the Indiana Fever in Baltimore Sunday. The Washington Spirit will host Seattle Reign FC on Sunday.
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 available as a morning email newsletter. Sign up here.
I can’t stop listening to:
Pinky Lemon, “f4f.” Today’s pick comes courtesy of Washingtonian Today music concierge John Rickman, who writes in: “If you haven’t checked out hometown heroes Pinky Lemon yet, then pucker up, buttercup! They’re bringing their shoegaze-influenced pop to Comet Ping Pong tonight with Dyeboy and Girls on Toast.”
Take Washingtonian Today with you! I’ve made a playlist on Spotify and on Apple Music of my daily music recommendations this year. (And after a month of slacking off, I have finally updated it on both services.)
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
Let’s check in on the President’s campaign to win a Nobel Peace Prize: President Trump will seek to rebrand the Department of Defense as the Department of War. That would probably take an act of Congress, but the President said, “I’m sure Congress will go along if we need that.” (NYT) “It would likely cost billions of dollars to change the names of hundreds of Pentagon agencies, their stationary, emblems, plaques and other signage at the Defense Department.” (Politico) Meanwhile, the administration led by an aspiring Nobel Peace Prize recipient will end US aid programs that provided additional security to European countries that border Russia. (Washington Post) Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that the administration “wants to help partner governments conduct violent strikes against criminal groups” like the extrajudicial killing of people in a speedboat that was ordered by Trump, who surprised Norway’s finance minister with a phone call last month to ask how he might get a Nobel Peace Prize. (NYT) The Pentagon has approved a plan to turn a military base near Chicago into a staging ground for ICE operations, a plan that dovetails with Trump’s plans to send more troops into US cities, another characteristic move for someone who has complained for years that he hasn’t received a Nobel Peace Prize. (Washington Post)
Life in health: Health Secretary RFK Jr. visited Capitol Hill yesterday, where US Senators berated him for firing the CDC’s leader, causing an exodus of top leadership, and for restricting who can get Covid vaccines. Kennedy told the legislators Trump “deserves a Nobel Prize” for Operation Warp Speed, the initiative in Trump’s first term that led to the rapid development and approval of Covid vaccines, which Kennedy has described as the “deadliest vaccine ever made.” (Washington Post) Here’s what Kennedy got wrong when he spoke about vaccines. (Politico) Kennedy’s performance led to an “outpouring of support” from administration officials, including Trump, “that reflected Kennedy’s ability to remain close to Trump despite seven months of near-constant turmoil at HHS.” (CNN) Meanwhile, in New York: Governor Kathy Hochul will sign an order clearing the way for anyone who wants a Covid vaccine to get around limits imposed by Kennedy, joining similar efforts in California, Oregon, and Washington state. (NYT)
It’s the economy: The Labor Department will release August’s jobs report today. Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after the last report showed hiring is down; economists expect “meager” figures. (Washington Post) Data from payroll giant ADP shows that “private-sector hiring rose less than expected in August.” (CNBC) Meanwhile, the Justice Department launched an investigation into Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor Trump hopes to fire, over claims about her mortgages. (NYT) The administration, which has “vowed to go after anyone who got lower mortgage rates by claiming more than one primary residence on their loan papers,” and yet “at least three of Trump’s Cabinet members call multiple homes their primary residences on mortgages.” (ProPublica)
Is the takeover over? Congress won’t extend Trump’s 30-day takeover of DC’s police force, which will expire next Wednesday. Speaker Mike Johnson said that DC Mayor Muriel Bowser‘s recent announcement that the District would coordinate with federal law enforcement indefinitely “seemingly ‘resolved some of’ the issues” with crime in DC.”(Politico) Current and former FBI employees say Trump’s surge “is exposing the FBI’s fleet of unmarked cars.” (Reuters) Trump aide Stephen Miller is driving Trump’s efforts to take over DC. (Washington Post) Meanwhile: Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui said the administration is “trampling people’s rights by overcharging them with felonies and then moving slowly to dismiss the weakest cases while the defendants languished in jail.” (Washington Post)
Administration perambulation: DOJ official Joseph Schnitt told a date his department plans to “redact every Republican” from the Epstein files. Unfortunately for Schnitt, the woman, who he met on Hinge, worked for the O’Keefe Media Group and was secretly recording him. Schnitt later said he was merely repeating what he’d heard “in the media.” (Axios) The DOJ is mulling ways to prevent transgender people from owning firearms. (CNN) Northwestern University President Michael H. Schill will step down after months of being targeted by the administration and Republicans in Congress. (NYT) DHS awarded a no-bid contract for sniper training to the brother of US Representative Nick LaLota, a Republican from New York. (Wired) Despite his protestations to the contrary, New York City Mayor Eric Adams “has told a small group of friends and advisers that he is seriously considering job opportunities that could prompt him to suspend his re-election campaign”—such as a position the administration has reportedly dangled. (NYT) PBS will cut 100 positions after Congress zeroed out funding to public broadcasting. (NYT) Trump wants to take over the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City. (NYT) Michael Schena, a former State Department employee, was sentenced to four years in prison “for conspiring to collect and transmit national defense information to individuals he believed to be working for China’s government.” (Reuters)
One snazzy open house this weekend:
This four bedroom/three-and-a-half bathroom 1865 brick townhouse has been renovated by RG Custom Builders and Edith Gregson Interiors. Among the highlights: a gas fireplace in the living room with a restored marble mantel, a lower-level family room with a wet bar, a kitchen with new Wolf and SubZero appliances, and a spacious patio and garden. It’s listed at $3.895 million, and you can see it this weekend. See Kate Corliss‘s other picks for open houses this weekend here.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• The last few years have been difficult for DC restaurants. The last thing any of them need is for Trump to visit.
• Upstate FTW, Scott Drewno, Danny Lee, and Angel Barreto‘s salute to weck, chicken riggies, and Buffalo wings, has opened on U Street, Northwest.
• Seven ways to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month around town when it kicks off on September 15.
Local news links:
• The District filed suit against the federal government over Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in DC. (Washingtonian) Attorney General Brian Schwalb described the use of troops as a “military occupation.” (AP) Mayor Bowser “privately urged” Schwalb “to hold off.” (Axios D.C.)
• Eleanor Holmes Norton, DC’s 88-year-old nonvoting delegate to Congress, reiterated her plans to run for reelection. (Axios) A Washington Post reporter on Wednesday attended what appears to have been Norton’s first press conference since Trump’s takeover, and said Norton spoke “so quietly” that some couldn’t hear, and was then “led to a car.” (Olivia George/X) Flashback: Norton gave a garbled address earlier this year at Arena Stage. (Washingtonian)
• Alexandria public-housing chief Erik Johnson has been placed on probation after officials learned he was living in a public-housing unit. (WTOP) The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority has named an interim CEO. City officials appear to be frustrated by what they describe as a lack of information from ARHA. (ALXnow)
• The US Park Police chief will now report directly to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, “moving its leadership one step closer to the White House.” (WTOP)
• Do not use your fire pit this weekend if you live in Arlington. (ARLnow)
• Madison Whitbeck of Loudoun County will represent Virginia in this weekend’s Miss America pageant. (Northern Virginia Magazine)
• Police in Montgomery County arrested Alejandro Zunca, who they say was driving a van in Silver Spring that was emblazoned with the name Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association and was displaying flashing lights. Zunca had a toy gun, a homemade police uniform, and a Baltimore badge, the cops say. They charged him with impersonating a police officer. (NBC4 Washington)
• Falls Church will get a new yarn shop. (Northern Virginia Magazine)
Weekend event picks:
Friday: Watch the second part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, accompanied by the NSO playing the score, at Wolf Trap.
Saturday: Now in its 25th year, the National Book Festival will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, with appearances by R.L. Stine, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Geena Davis.
Sunday: Artists at the Takoma Park Folk Festival will probably have plenty to discuss this year!
See lots more picks for the weekend from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.
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.
