Good morning. Rain early, then cloudy with a high around 61 and more rain likely after 4 PM. Rainy and gusty overnight, with a low near 55. The Washington Commanders will host the Chicago Bears tonight at Northwest Stadium. The Washington Wizards will visit the Knicks tonight for a preseason game. 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:
Peel Dream Magazine, “Lie in the Gutter.” Let’s start the week with some fine Stereolab-inspired rock by this Los Angeles group. Peel Dream Magazine will play Songbyrd tonight with Emotional World.
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:
Rif hanger: President Trump laid off about 4,200 federal employees Friday night, claiming the government shutdown left him no choice. No previous shutdown has resulted in layoffs. (Government Executive) The layoffs affected the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, HUD, the IRS, EPA, and other agencies. (NPR) The layoffs were conducted without much precision in hundreds of cases: Some at CDC “were mistakenly fired through a ‘coding error,'” two sources told Politico; and they and others will be rehired by HHS. (Politico) In all, about half the CDC employees Trump laid off got reinstated the next day. (CNN) Among the people laid off are Education Department staff who ensure that “states provide special education services to the nation’s 7.5 million children with disabilities.” (NPR) More than 100 employees at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which oversees the 988 suicide-prevention hotline, lost their jobs. (NPR) The American Federation of Government Employees is already suing the Trump administration over the threat of layoffs and requested an expedited temporary restraining order on Friday; Everett Kelley, the union’s national president, called the firings “illegal” in a statement and vowed not to “stop fighting until every reduction-in-force notice is rescinded.”
Check, republic: Federal workers missed their paycheck Friday. People serving in the US military were due to miss a check this coming Wednesday, but Trump declared on Saturday that he had found funds the Pentagon could use to pay people in most of the services. Big caveat: “It was not clear how long the Trump administration could rely on such accounting moves to pay troops in the event that Congress cannot strike a spending deal.” (NYT) The administration said it would attempt to pay people who serve in the US Coast Guard, which is overseen by DHS, not DOD. (Punchbowl News)
Gulp: Pain from the shutdown “will collide with the U.S. economy this week, as missed paychecks and the absence of billions of dollars of government services reverberate beyond federal workers and sting the broader public.” Flight delays caused by staffing shortages, for example, are creeping up. (Washington Post) The Smithsonian Institution exhausted the funds it had used to keep its facilities open, and its museums and the National Zoo are now closed. (Axios) Unemployment has surged for Black Americans, driven by administration policy rather than economic conditions. That trend is likely to gain speed as the shutdown reverberates through the wider economy. (NYT) An end to Obamacare subsidies, which Democrats say prompted them to hold out against voting to reopen the government, would affect red states disproportionately: Most people in ACA plans are in Republican states. (NYT)
Administration perambulation: Trump threatened 100 percent tariffs against Chinese goods Friday, a move that spooked financial markets. (Washington Post) China said it would retaliate. (Politico) Trump appeared to walk back the threat Sunday evening. (Playbook) The vast number of feds who’ve chosen to retire is straining already shaky government resources. (Washington Post) Trump placed longtime aide Dan Scavino in charge of the White House Presidential Personnel Office. He’s also deputy chief of staff at the White House and, a job Trump says Scavino will continue to perform as well. (The Hill)
The best thing I ate last week, by Ann Limpert:
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• The Marion Barry Avenue Market and Cafe in Southeast DC has opened; its retail operation will help address the lack of grocery stores east of the river.
• Here are some photos from the Capitals’ season-opening red carpet last week.
• Just for the halibut, here are our food critic’s favorite fall dishes.
• And here are some autumnal coffee drinks.
• A raft of food events await you over the next few weeks.
• Photos from our Style Setters event.
Local news links:
• A federal judge in Maryland appeared inclined to release Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego García, calling one prosecutor’s testimony “a joke.” (NYT)
• Emily Gabriella Sommer, who spat on onetime Trump appointee Ed Martin, will not face prison time after spending about four months in the DC Jail over the incident. Prosecutors asked that she receive an 18-months sentence. Instead, she’ll have a year of supervised release. (Washington Post)
• A teenager got shot multiple times near the Air and Space Museum Friday. One of the rounds pierced a window at the museum. (News4 Washington)
• “Real Housewives of Potomac” star Wendy Osefo and her husband, Edward Osefo, were arrested last week in Carroll County. Police say they staged a break-in to make an insurance claim. (Washington Post)
• Trump wants to build a triumphal arch near Arlington Cemetery, a plan that could make Memorial Circle even more difficult to navigate. (Washington Post)
• Two area journalists have passed away: Craig Heist, a broadcaster for WTOP, has died at 66. (WTOP) Bert Barnes, a Washington Post journalist for 50 years, died on October 5. He was 87. (Washington Post)
• Patricia Cornwell‘s new novel is set in Old Town. (Northern Virginia Magazine)
• Jimmy Kimmel interviewed Georgetown University football player Jimmy Kibble, who he will now sponsor. “I didn’t mean to make your life hell,” the late night host said. (People)
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.
