Good morning. Sunny with a high around 82 today. A low near 60 overnight. 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:
Pete & Bas, “Mr Worldwide.” A British novelty act? In this economy? Hey, why not. These septuagenarian rappers from London will play Union Stage tomorrow with Delivery Boys.
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:
Living in the impasse: The government shutdown enters its sixth day this morning. On Capitol Hill, “the two parties do not appear to be having productive conversations with each other in private.” (AP) Government workers will miss their first paycheck Friday. “If Republicans maintain their current strategy, Senate Democrats will have to decide at some point whether what they’re fighting for — chiefly, an extension of the Obamacare enhanced premium tax credits — is worth the growing pain of the shutdown.” (Punchbowl News) For his part, President Trump has posted AI-generated memes about Democrats and threatened federal layoffs, but “As of Friday afternoon, only the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has implemented layoffs since the shutdown began,” sending “notices to around 1% of its workforce.” (Government Executive) The GSA “inadvertently sent notices to employees it laid off months ago, telling them that they are exempt and should continue working during the shutdown.” (Federal News Network) Government contractors in the area are in a tight spot. (Government Executive) Americans still blame Trump and Congressional Republicans for the shutdown, though “For the Democrats, only half their rank and file think their party’s positions are worth a shutdown, and even fewer Republicans say that of the GOP’s positions.” (CBS News)
Oh, you meant all troops? A federal judge in Oregon blocked the administration from sending troops from California and Texas to Oregon after an earlier ruling in which she’d said Trump’s assertions of chaos in Portland were “untethered to facts” and wouldn’t allow the President to federalize Oregonian National Guard troops. (Politico) Oregon Governor Tina Kotek said the administration had stationed social media influencers atop a Portland ICE facility where about 70 people protested Sunday and were “clearly trying to antagonize the crowds.” (NYT) Trump also plans to federalize Illinois National Guard troops and send troops from Texas to Chicago for at least two months. “We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said in a statement Sunday. Illinois, too, would seek relief from the courts, Pritzker said. (Chicago Tribune) Already in Chicago, “Activists, residents and leaders say increasingly combative tactics used by federal immigration agents are sparking violence and fueling neighborhood tensions.” Over the weekend, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem “posted heavily edited video clips” to X that showed “agents blasting through doors, helicopters and adults in zip ties” as music played. (AP) The feds shot one Chicago resident and charged her and another motorist, saying they drove into one agent’s car. DHS claimed the drivers had shot at its agents, but those claims had evaporated by the time the government filed charges against them. (NYT)
Bad news gavels fast: The Supreme Court starts a new term today, though the nation’s highest court didn’t have much of a summer off: The Supremes “issued orders that included opinions in nine ’emergency’ applications addressing challenges to President Donald Trump’s actions, as well as a handful of orders with no opinions, including the decisions to hear cases over Trump’s tariffs in November and over Trump’s effort to fire Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook in January.” (Law Dork) The court now faces “three cases with broad consequences for his agenda.” (NYT) “It will also be a term that keeps the justices busy on other high-profile matters, including elections and policies toward gay and transgender individuals.” (Washington Post) A man from New Jersey was arrested outside DC’s Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle Sunday before the annual “Red Mass” that precedes a new Supreme Court term. Police say he had “vials of liquid and possible fireworks” inside his tent. (NBC4 Washington)
Administration perambulation: A house in Edisto Beach belonging to South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein was set ablaze Saturday. The administration had criticized Goodstein after an unfavorable ruling. (Time) Three people were injured in the fire. (The Post and Courier) The White House is “preparing a plan that would make it harder for older Americans to qualify for Social Security disability payments.” (Washington Post) Trump’s planned bailout of farmers suffering from the effects of his tariffs could cost at least $10 billion. (CNN) Public defenders in DC asked a federal judge to overrule arrests and imprisonments made by the US Parole Commission “because, as of Wednesday, it does not legally exist.” (Washington Post) US business leaders and even some Trump allies worry that the President “is no longer swimming in the currents of the American conversation.” (Semafor)
The best thing I ate last week, by Ann Limpert:
Fancy Ranch, the Union Market pop-up from the couple behind Shilling Canning Company, specializes in the kind of bougie fried chicken that’s having a moment. And while the cost of a family meal—ten pieces of chicken plus two sides and a bunch of sauces—is $52.50, this fried chicken is worth the extra bucks. The Amish birds are first brined in a mix of sorghum, molasses, and herbs, then marinated in hot sauce and buttermilk for a day. The result is perfectly juicy, not-too-salty meat that is just as good as its crunchy coating. Also great: sauces that range from housemade ranch to honey mustard to Peruvian aji verde, and sides like corn waffles drenched in maple butter, and cool, creamy slaw. (1309 Fifth St., NE.)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Abigail Spanberger doesn’t do stunts, has no ambitions to go viral, and her brand is competence. So far, that’s working for the Virginia gubernatorial candidate.
• Yoga, discounted comedy shows, free crochet classes: Here are a bunch of ways for furloughed feds to cope with the shutdown.
• US Park Police dismantled an anti-Trump encampment at Union Station. When we asked why, a spokesperson for the Interior Department sent along a New York Post webpage.
Local news links:
• DC Councilmember Brooke Pinto will challenge Eleanor Holmes Norton for her non-voting seat in Congress. Pinto joins an increasingly crowded race that includes her Council colleague Robert White Jr. Norton says she plans to run again. (Washington Post)
• The home of Oye Owolewa, DC’s shadow representative was vandalized over the weekend. (NBC4 Washington)
• The Washington Commanders overcame a ten-point deficit to smash the Los Angeles Chargers 27-10 yesterday. Jayden Daniels returned to play. (Washington Post)
• The Smithsonian said its museums and the National Zoo will use prior-year funds to remain open through Saturday. (NBC4 Washington) The National Gallery of Art, however, has closed. (WTOP)
• US District Judge James Boasberg “admonished U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s staff to remain civil in court proceedings” Friday. (Washington Post)
• Virginia updates: Spanberger leads her opponent, Winsome Earle-Sears, by double digits, a new poll shows. (Washington Post) Jay Jones, who is running for attorney general, apologized after the release of text messages “describing the hypothetical shooting of a former GOP House speaker.” (DC News Now)
• An arbitrator ordered the National Philharmonic to pay former music director Piotr Gajewski $391,402 “after a hearing found the organization was responsible for breach of contract and wrongful termination.” (WTOP)
• Here’s a photo gallery of the area’s top-paid athletes. (WBJ)
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.
