Good morning. A swell day awaits—weatherwise, to be clear; everything else is terrible—with sun and a high around 71. Crisp again overnight, with a low around 52. 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:
Des Demonas, “The Duke Ellington Bridge.” DC’s Des Demonas play fuzzy, psychedelic pop with vocals that sound like they’re broadcast from a car circling the block, and I love it. They’ll open for erstwhile Alexandrian Neko Case tonight at the Lincoln Theatre.
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:
Bring on the fight: Republicans and Democrats spent Day 1 of the strangely low-key government shutdown trying to convince Americans the other party is at fault. (Washingtonian Today blames a relatively recent interpretation of the 1884 Antideficiency Act, not that anyone ever asks him.) Broadly, the disagreement concerns “Democratic lawmakers insisting that any deal address their health care demands and Republicans saying those negotiations can happen after the government is funded.” (AP) Meanwhile, President Trump and OMB boss Russ Vought “have both threatened to inflict maximum pain on Democrats” via mass firings of federal workers. One potential problem with that tactic: There are a lot of federal jobs in Republican districts. (Politico) Trump and Vought also announced cuts to infrastructure projects, exclusively aimed at blue states. (Politico) Work on Trump’s White House ballroom will continue. (GMA)
Message in a battle: Trump and other Republicans have claimed Democrats “want to give free health care to immigrants in the U.S. illegally,” which—and this may surprise you—isn’t true. (AP) Employees at the Small Business Administration were instructed to set out-of-office auto replies that blamed Democrats for the shutdown. (Wired) If that sounds a little Hatch Act-y to you, a similar message on the SBA’s homepage triggered a complaint from the group Public Citizen. (NBC News) Staffers at a HHS agency were given a similar suggestion. (HuffPost) Sad trombone sound: Polling shows that currently, far more Americans blame Republicans than Democrats for the shutdown. (Washington Post)
Put on the red lights: “U.S. companies shed 32,000 jobs in September, according to the payroll processing company ADP, a surprising decline that adds to growing concerns about the rapidly weakening labor market.” (NBC News) Black, Hispanic, and young voters are turning on Trump as economic warning lights blink. (Politico)
Every little thing he does is tragic: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth‘s “war on leakers and internal dissent” at the Pentagon is about to lead to NDAs and random polygraphs. (This article would also seem to indicate that Hegseth’s plan to prevent news outlets from reporting information the Pentagon doesn’t approve of hasn’t quite caught on with the press.) (Washington Post) Women who are veterans challenge Hegseth’s comments about “females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as men.” (Axios)
Administration perambulation: The National Endowment for the Humanities is down to four members after the White House fired a bunch of its advisers yesterday. (Washington Post) The administration also fired Michael Ben’Ary, “the top national security prosecutor in the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia after a social media post by a right-wing activist and writer falsely tied him to the case of FBI Director James Comey.” (CNN) The administration cannot fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve until at least January, the Supreme Court ruled, in a rare bit of pushback to Trump. (NYT) The White House wants US colleges and universities to sign a “compact” about its ideological priorities; in return the schools would receive “preferential access to federal funds.” (WSJ) FCC Chair Brendan Carr will testify before Ted Cruz‘s Senate Commerce Committee next month, which could lead to some interesting exchanges about the Jimmy Kimmel affair. (Semafor) An immigration judge said Kilmar Abrego García can’t reopen his case because he found “‘insufficient evidence’ to show that the Trump administration would send Abrego to Uganda.” (DHS tweeted that it planned to send the Maryland resident to Uganda.) (Washington Post) Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the disgraced, deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein was “the greatest blackmailer ever”—not exactly the message the administration has honed over the past months. (New York Post) And in promising news for newsrooms in several jurisdictions, former US Representative Madison Cawthorn, who once claimed his fellow Republicans took part in cocaine-fueled orgies while in DC, has begun a comeback attempt. (Politico)
Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen:
Across Brazil—and in the Brazilian enclaves of New Jersey, South Florida, and parts of New England—the “kilo” buffet, where you’re charged by weight, is a favorite genre of restaurant. As far as I’ve been able to tell, the DMV has just one: the literally named Brazilian Place, which has been attached to a Brazilian market on University Avenue in Wheaton for about ten years. I recently assembled a plate there with small portions of smoky feijoada, rice, grilled brisket, julienned collard greens, and the Brazilian favorite estrogonofe (chicken stroganoff); heaped it with farofa (toasted cassava flour); and got out for around $11. Miniature portions of desserts like passionfruit mousse are included, but the açaí bar will cost you extra. (2419 University Boulevard.)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Here’s a list of food and drink specials during the shutdown.
• There aren’t many properties on the market like this alley house in Capitol Hill.
• Meet the self-described space nerds working to keep Texas from stealing our space shuttle.
• Want to get away? Here are this month’s travel deals for Washingtonian readers.
Local news links:
• What does the shutdown mean for DC residents? Here’s a typically excellent guide from Martin Austermuhle. (The 51st)
• “Fairfax High School’s football team has been banned from the playoffs after Fairfax County Public Schools determined the school’s program violated recruiting policies.” (WTOP)
• About 1.2 million people attended WorldPride in DC, “less than half the number projected.” And those who visited town for the event spent far less than officials and organizers anticipated. (Washington Post)
• An instructional assistant at a Fairfax high school was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting two students. (ALXnow)
• A bill that would require a 10-cent deposit on bottles sold in the District “faces fierce opposition from the beverage industry, the mayor and some local retailers.” (Washington Post)
• The “Demon Star” is above us. (WTOP)
Thursday’s event pick:
• Lina Makoul performs at Culture DC.
See more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.
We’re looking for 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.
