Good morning. Cloudy again today, with a high around 78. A low near 60 overnight. The Capitals will visit Columbus for a preseason game tonight. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below.
Today’s the deadline to nominate your favorite local hero to join our next class of Washingtonians of the Year. We’re looking for people who make this area better.
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I can’t stop listening to:
Keegan del Rio, “Moonstone.” It’s always a good morning for some local psychedelia! Del Rio plays Comet Ping Pong tonight with O.R.B. and Alaska’s Angels.
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:
Impasse is prologue: Congressional leaders left the White House Monday without reaching an agreement on how to fund the government past midnight. A government shutdown will ensue unless something changes today. (AP) After the meeting, President Trump posted yet another AI fake video, this time starring Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Trump deployed “fabricated audio [that] has Schumer saying Democrats “have no voters anymore, because of our woke, trans bullshit.'” (Politico) The mood on the Hill is “dour and fatalistic.” (Semafor) Schumer floated a possible fix before yesterday’s meeting. (Axios) That didn’t go over well with a lot of Dems. (Axios) Many will focus on national politicians’ blame games, but shutdowns are intensely destructive in the Washington area, which is particularly vulnerable now after months of cuts and uncertainty. (WTOP)
Troops and consequences: The administration plans to deploy troops to Chicago on the pretext of protecting ICE officers who staged a provocative display in the Windy City on Sunday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said, based on a memo by DHS official Andrew Whitaker. (Chicago Tribune) A masked ICE agent fired a pepper ball at a reporter Sunday. (Block Club Chicago) Families described being loaded onto trucks and detained by ICE agents. (Chicago Tribune) A group of masked ICE agents unsuccessfully chased a man on a bicycle who taunted them. (ABC 7 Chicago) Pritzker said that in “any other country,” these events would easily be seen as “authoritarianism.” (NBC News) Related: An ICE agent who pushed a woman to the ground in New York, in an incident that quickly went viral when video emerged, has returned to duty after a brief suspension. (CBS News)
Heavy settle: YouTube will pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit from Trump over the streaming platform’s decision to suspend his account after he encouraged his followers to attack the Capitol on January 6, 2021, following his loss to Joe Biden in the November 2020 election. Trump has now squeezed $80 million from companies he sued. (WSJ) “If he hadn’t been re-elected, we’d be in court forever,” one of Trump’s lawyers said. (NYT)
General confusion: Hundreds of military leaders will attend a hastily called meeting at Quantico this morning, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will join Trump to address them. The meeting follows concern among some top brass about the administration’s proposed National Defense Strategy, a “plan they consider myopic and potentially irrelevant, given the president’s highly personal and sometimes contradictory approach to foreign policy.” (Washington Post) Theories abound, but no one really knows what the meeting will entail. (USA Today) One expert called the meeting “mystifying.” (AP)
Administration perambulation: Border czar Tom Homan “became entangled in an FBI sting last year after an associate of his suggested to undercover FBI agents that Homan could facilitate future government contracts in exchange for big money.” (MSNBC) HHS is moving to “obstruct Harvard from receiving federal funding or entering into contracts with the federal government.” (Axios) The administration abandoned a Biden-era rule that forced airlines to better accommodate passengers who use wheelchairs. (Reuters) A federal judge temporarily halted a reduction in force at Voice of America. (AP) Trump revived his idea to impose tariffs on films made overseas, but no one can yet explain how such a tax could be implemented on movies, which are typically not physical products. (AP)
Where to celebrate Taylor Swift’s new album this week, by Daniella Byck
Welcome to “The Life of a Showgirl” release week (Washington’s version). Taylor Swift has been DC’s most streamed artist on Spotify for three years in a row, so needless to say, there’s a strong contingency of local Swifties eager to celebrate her 12th album. Put on your flashiest orange and green ensembles to welcome the new release at a party or other Tay-themed event. The fun starts on Thursday, October 2, at Capitol Hill bar Barrel, which will stay open until 2 AM on Friday for a midnight streaming of the album. Cover group the Fearless Eras Band will take on Taylor Swift’s greatest hits during a show at Problem Child in Navy Yard on Friday, October 3. For a chance to shake it off, head to Public Bar Live in Adams Morgan on Saturday, October 4, and dance to all the eras, including the newest addition. Check out our full list of album-related events here.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• This year’s list of the most powerful women in Washington is here, with people from national and local politics, lobbying, nonprofits, arts, and the news media.
• Dana Bash, Shannon Bream, Margaret Brennan, Martha Raddatz, and Kristen Welker discuss their Sunday morning routines, recall tough interviews, and mull advice they’d give other women who are coming up in TV journalism.
• Dua Lipa was an inspiration for Singing Tiger, a new pan-Asian restaurant and karaoke bar near Union Market.
• From a Foxhall estate to a McLean mansion, these are the most expensive properties to change hands in July.
• It’s your turn to be Washingtonian’s food critic. Tell us your thoughts on the best new restaurant, the best pizza, your favorite place for bar food, and more, and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a $150 gift card to a restaurant of your choice.
Local news links:
• The Department of Education directed Fairfax County Public Schools to “investigate claims that a school social worker helped a high school student get an abortion.” The system says an investigation is already underway. (NBC4 Washington)
• Archbishop Cardinal Robert McElroy said the Catholic Church “must console and peacefully stand in solidarity with the undocumented men and women whose lives are being upended by the government’s campaign of fear and terror.” (WTOP)
• Lally Weymouth, the “granddaughter, daughter, sister and mother of five Washington Post publishers” and a “roving journalist and high-society fixture who interviewed diplomats, dictators and other world leaders,” died Monday. She was 82. (Washington Post)
• Maryland plans to close its aging prison in Jessup by next June. (Maryland Matters)
• Swahili Village owner Kevin Onyona has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The restaurant agreed to pay more than half a million dollars last year to settle claims of wage theft. (WBJ)
• Doja Cat announced a DC stop on her tour next year. (NBC4 Washington)
• Apparently we’ve all been pronouncing “Marriott” incorrectly? The family says it the British way. (WBJ)
Tuesday’s event picks:
• See Charmaine Poh’s short film “May All the Little Girls Win” at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art and stick around for a discussion afterward.
• Don your favorite period attire and compete in board games and croquet at a Vintage Game Night.
See more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.
We’re seeking nominations for our 500 Most Influential People list. Get ’em in by December 5!
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.
