Good morning. We’ll get more marvelous weather today, with sunshine and a high around 73. Clear overnight, with a low near 52.
Sports this weekend: The Capitals will host Columbus for a preseason game on Saturday. D.C. United will host Charlotte FC on Saturday. Loudoun United will host Birmingham Legion FC on Saturday. The Washington Spirit will host San Diego Wave FC on Sunday. The Commanders will visit the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday (and it looks like Jayden Daniels will play, though Terry McLaurin will be out again). 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:
Redd Kross, “1976.” Redd Kross blew away the Cat’s Cradle in Chapel Hill when I saw them there last summer, and this tune from the cult movie “The Spirit of ’76” summons everything that helps me vibe with these California legends, who mix bubblegum with Kiss and just make me very happy. Redd Kross play the Black Cat Saturday with the Melvins.
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:
Shutdown, Day 3: The White House’s plans to lay off federal employees during the shutdown would probably violate the law, senior officials have warned. (Washington Post) Still, President Trump “appeared jubilant Thursday at the ‘unprecedented opportunity’ to slash ‘Democrat Agencies.’” (Politico) So far, the White House has made relatively restrained moves against small independent agencies, which reflects “a growing view among some Republicans that policy decisions the administration makes during the shutdown could come back to bite them.” (Politico) And yet: Senate Majority Leader John Thune warned Democrats about OMB Director Russ Vought, saying Congress can’t “control what he’s going to do.” (Politico) Trump feted Vought as being “of Project 2025 fame”—a plan to refashion the government that Trump pretended to know little about during his campaign. (Axios) Trump has promised to bail out farmers whose businesses have been battered by his trade wars, but that’s “unlikely to happen or even be possible during the ongoing government shutdown.” (Politico) Vought told Congress the WIC program could run out of money in a week. (Washington Post)
The messages: “With both sides dug into their shutdown positions, both parties are running out of new things to talk about.” (Semafor) Workers at the Education Department found that their OOO messages had been changed to text that “blamed Senate Democrats for the entire shutdown.” (Wired) US Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland called the administration’s use of government resources to blame Democrats a “naked violation of the Hatch Act.” (Congressman Jamie Raskin) Republicans take more blame for the shutdown than Democrats in polls so far. (NBC News) The White House will furlough a third of its staff—but not DOGE officials. (Politico)
Administration perambulation: Trump “has decided that the United States is engaged in a formal ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels,” the administration told Congress earlier this month, amid questions about its deadly strikes on small boats in the Caribbean it claims were carrying drugs to the US. (NYT) Todd Arrington, the director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home in Kansas, was forced out after he declined to give the administration a sword for Trump to offer to King Charles. (NYT) “FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday fired an agent in training for displaying a gay pride flag on his desk while appointed to a field office in California last year.” (NBC News) Federal agents busted down doors and shattered lives of residents of an apartment building in Chicago in an overnight raid. DHS claimed ICE agents were looking for members of a Venezuelan gang but “gave no evidence to support the assertion” they were present.(Chicago Sun-Times) Apple removed apps that track ICE agents’ movements after the Justice Department pressured it. (Fox News) The developer of one app argued his product “is no different from crowd sourcing speed traps.” (404 Media) Health Secretary RFK Jr. fired a top NIH scientist, Jeanne Marrazzo, after she filed a whistleblower complaint. (NYT) MAGA fans are upset that the administration approved a generic version of mifepristone. (Washington Post) The White House doinked the nomination of Brian Quintenz to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission after the Winklevoss twins objected. (Punchbowl News) California Governor Gavin Newsom said any Golden State institutions that signed Trump’s “compact” with universities will “lose billions in state funding.” (Los Angeles Times)
One snazzy open house this weekend:
This six bedroom/four-and-a-half-bath manse in Cleveland Park was built in 1905. Now restored and expanded, it spans four levels and boasts a chef’s kitchen, a family room with a cathedral ceiling, multiple offices and fireplaces, and a detached garage. It’s listed at $5.595 million, and you can see it and Emma Sullivan’s other picks for must-see open houses this weekend.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• For DC restaurants, the shutdown is one more blow in an already rough year.
• These museums and events will offer discounts for feds during the shutdown.
• Maybe you could use a laugh? Here’s a list of comedy shows to look out for this fall.
• Tadayoshi Motoa has arrived in DC, and his new Omakase Room by Tadayoshi on 14th Street, Northwest, will serve a 20-course menu of nigiri and prepared dishes for $200 per person.
• Here’s Dan Swartz’s monthly roundup of photos from swanky events around town.
• This wedding featured a “Let love grow” theme bursting with flowers—and nods to “Star Wars.”
Local news links:
• The race to replace Brianne Nadeau on the DC Council has already drawn three candidates—and more are on the way. (WAMU)
• Meanwhile, Robert White officially kicked off his campaign to challenge Eleanor Holmes Norton for her nonvoting seat in Congress. (Robert White/X) Councilmember Brooke Pinto may be eyeing Norton’s seat as well. (Tom Sherwood)
• Almost a quarter of a million families in the area stand to lose SNAP benefits under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. (Urban Institute)
• A statue depicting Trump cavorting with his former pal Jeffrey Epstein reappeared on the National Mall yesterday after feds hauled it off, claiming it violated the terms of its permit. (Washingtonian Today has repeatedly asked the Interior Department how, exactly, the statue was out of compliance, but it hasn’t responded.) (HuffPost)
• Kelly Clarkson will give $10,000 to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad in honor of EMT Ed Levien, who recently retired at 76. (Bethesda Today)
• DC resident Hector Biaggi has launched a one-man effort to map the whereabouts of 150 panda statues that the District placed around town in 2004. (Washington Post)
• Spotted lanternflies will be back next year. (DC News Now)
Weekend event picks:
Friday: Taylor Swift’s new album is here. Here’s where you can celebrate “The Life of a Showgirl.”
Saturday: The Home Rule Music Festival wraps up at Alethia Tanner Park.
Sunday: It’s the last day of Theatre Week.
See lots more picks for the weekend from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.
We’re seeking nominations for our 500 Most Influential People list. Get ‘em to us 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.
