Good morning. Increasingly cloudy and gusty at times today, with a high around 81. Rain is likely overnight, with a low near 63. 🚦Fleece vest traffic control system 🚦: (A new fall feature on Washingtonian Today where we issue a green, yellow, or red light to your hopes to wear a fleece vest) Today is a 🟡 day. Your vest may feel like the right choice amid the slight bite in the air this morning, but you’ll be lugging it around by noon.
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:
Miki Berenyi Trio, “Doldrum Days.” This shoegaze supergroup’s album—and this song, whose title is a bit on the nose—has unexpectedly stuck in my “recently played” queue for a while now, and I plan to be there Friday when they play Pearl Street Warehouse with Gina Birch & the Unreasonables.
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 seven: Republican hopes to peel off Democratic votes fizzled Monday night, when the Senate’s fifth vote on a House-passed stopgap spending bill failed. The Senate also rejected an alternate Democratic plan that included a fix to expiring ACA subsidies. (Politico) President Trump claimed he was “talking to the Democrats” but, after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that wasn’t true, later demanded they vote to open the government before he’d take part in talks that apparently did not take place. (NYT) “Democrats are still far from concluding — at least publicly — that the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.” (Punchbowl News) Trump again said he’d begin mass firings of federal workers, but Democrats say the threat doesn’t land when he’s moved to fire so many already. (Politico) The shutdown is beginning to affect flight schedules—Hollywood Burbank Airport had no air traffic controllers on site Monday. (NYT) Meanwhile: House Speaker Mike Johnson is taking heat for keeping his chamber in recess, which some members say is a ploy to avoid a vote on releasing the government’s files on former Trump pal Jeffrey Epstein. (Axios) US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia broke with her party and said she’s willing to negotiate with Democrats. (The Hill) The American Federation of Government Employees sued the government, saying the Department of Education changed employee out-of-office email messages without workers’ consent to blame Democrats for the shutdown. (Government Executive)
Trump’s war on US cities: Video contradicts the Border Patrol’s claim that a Chicago woman, Marimar Martinez, drove her car toward officers before they shot her, Martinez’s attorney Christopher Parente says. A Border Patrol agent hit Martinez’s car and shouted, “Do something b—-,” before opening fire, Parente told a courtroom. The judge declined the government’s request to hold Martinez before trial. (Chicago Sun-Times) A federal judge declined to block Trump from sending National Guard troops to Chicago. They could deploy there today. (Chicago Tribune) Trump “said he would consider using the Insurrection Act to deploy the military if federal courts prevented him from deploying the National Guard to protect federal buildings and conduct law enforcement operations.” (Politico) Oregon’s Republican party posted a bogus photo that combined images of events in South America in an attempt to depict unrest in Portland, which Trump insists is taking place and locals say is not. (The Guardian) California and other blue states could secede from the United States to rebalance a system where far less populous and economically productive states hold more proportionally more sway than they do—they could try “soft secession” instead to “preserve what the federal government is destroying.” (Mother Jones)
Administration perambulation: The Pentagon retreated from press restrictions after it negotiated with outlets, agreeing that journalists won’t have to get their stories approved to maintain access to government facilities. (NYT) Assistant US Attorney Elizabeth Yusi “has informed colleagues she plans to decline to seek charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James.” Trump called publicly for James’ prosecution and fired her former boss, Erik Siebert, after he declined to charge former FBI Director James Comey. (MSNBC) The Justice Department has “produced a classified legal opinion that justifies lethal strikes against a secret and expansive list of cartels and suspected drug traffickers.” (CNN) Trump “has called off efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement with Venezuela, according to U.S. officials, paving the way for a potential military escalation against drug traffickers or the government of Nicolás Maduro.” (NYT) Two psychiatrists’ organizations have called for RFK Jr. to lose his job as health secretary. (NPR) The US Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Trump “declined to rule out pardoning Maxwell, telling CNN he’d speak to the Department of Justice about possible clemency.” (CNN) Deputy AG Todd Blanche, who conducted an extraordinary interview with Maxwell this summer before she was moved to a lower-security facility, is under fire from MAGA enthusiasts upset he hasn’t made similar efforts for Tina Peters, the former Colorado official jailed for allowing a security breach in her office. (The Bulwark) CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis has demoted a career lawyer and named himself the agency’s general counsel. The agency says the strange arrangement is temporary. (NYT) The administration named Frank Bisignano to be the “chief executive officer” of the IRS—a job that does not exist. Bisignano is the seventh person the administration has placed atop the agency since it took power in January. He also runs the Social Security Administration. (NYT) The Treasury Department defended plans to mint a coin with Trump’s likeness. (NYT)
Free fun for furloughed feds, by Daniella Byck:
The shutdown continues, and if you’re a furloughed federal worker looking for things to do that don’t cost a thing, keep on reading. Some museums are offering free access to federal workers, including the Capital Jewish Museum, National Building Museum, National Museum of Women in the Arts, and Planet Word. Lose yourself in a creative project at Takoma craft spot Merry Pin, where federal employees can get free art materials while supplies last. To break a sweat without breaking the bank, free fitness classes take place in Metropolitan Park on Wednesdays and Center Park on Sundays. The classes rotate each week, and the upcoming sessions are a barre workout. Prefer to chill out? There are still a few outdoor movie locations showing free flicks this Friday. Get in the Halloween spirit for a screening of Hocus Pocus at Bridge District or head to the Navy Memorial to watch Battleship.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Research shows that for federal workers, the mental impact of shutdowns lingers long after they end. University of Virginia professor Christoph Herpfer explains why.
• Three new books about DC’s punk scene have arrived, including an autobiography by the members of Swiz.
• Photos from last Tuesday’s Top Real Estate Agents reception.
• It’s never too early to start thinking about a cherry blossom wedding.
Local news links:
• The DC Council hopes to give Mayor Muriel Bowser the authority to issue marriage licenses, because District residents cannot obtain them during a shutdown. (Axios D.C.)
• The FAA has permanently restricted helicopter flights near National Airport, a result of the January air disaster over the Potomac. (WTOP)
• Tom Sietsema will leave his job as the Washington Post’s food critic. And now you can see what he looks like! (Washington Post)
• Could Sunday’s Army Ten-Miler be canceled because of the shutdown? (WBJ)
• New York restaurant critic Robert Sietsema (distantly related to Tom) came to town to try our pastrami. (Washington Post)
• Francine, a cat whose disappearance has transfixed Richmond, was found 100 miles away in North Carolina. She’s home now. (Axios Richmond)
Tuesday’s event picks:
• Alex G plays the Anthem.
• The Velvet Rose Affair, a dinner whose proceeds will support the Thelma D. Jones Breast Cancer Fund, is at Hen Quarter Prime.
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 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.
