Good morning. Mostly sunny and breezy with a high around 71. Clear overnight, with a low near 45. The Washington Spirit will host CF Monterrey Femenil tonight at Audi Field in Concacaf W Champions Cup action. 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:
The Psychedelic Furs, “The Ghost in You.” The post-punk legends will play the Anthem tonight with Gary Numan.
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:
Shutshow: The government shutdown is two weeks old today. Democrats in the US Senate rejected, for the eighth time, a GOP funding bill that doesn’t address Obamacare subsidies that are due to expire soon. (Politico) Republicans plan to introduce a bill that would fund the Department of Defense for a full year, essentially daring Democrats to vote against paying members of the military. President Trump said he found money to pay them for this week’s check, but it’s not clear whether DOD has enough funds to do so in two weeks. (Punchbowl News) Lawmakers will continue to receive their paychecks. The US Capitol Police officers who protect them will not. (NBC News) After Trump’s layoffs and buyouts, a quarter of the CDC’s workforce has been vaporized. (Wired) “CDC also no longer has any employees in its Washington office, meaning there are no easy lines of communication to lawmakers.” (The Hill) The White House has “frozen or canceled nearly $28 billion that had been reserved for more than 200 projects primarily located in Democratic-led cities, congressional districts and states” since the shutdown began. (NYT) The administration has taken the opportunity to target divisions at the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, including a division that “helps protect against risks to infrastructure like power grids and water treatment plants.” (Government Executive)
Gas fighting: Federal agents tear-gassed Chicago residents yesterday and rammed an SUV in immigration raids. (Chicago Sun-Times) Just look at this scene. (NYT) The Justice Department, led by people who objected vehemently to the Biden administration contacting social media companies about content, pressured Meta to remove a Facebook page where Chicago residents warned one another about ICE activity. Meta complied. (Chicago Tribune) Debbie Brockman, a WGN employee and US citizen who was violently arrested by federal agents on her way to work last week, intends to sue over the incident, video of which went viral. (Chicago Sun-Times) Asked about the aggressive tactics by feds, which include shooting a priest with pepper balls, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he had not “seen them cross the line yet.” (TNR) Johnson did get an eyeful of a protest in Portland where naked people rode bikes to protest Trump’s deployment of troops; he said that was “the most threatening thing I’ve seen yet.” (KOIN) Protesters in Portland have leaned into absurdity as Trump claims the city is burning: donning inflatable animal costumes and dancing in front of troops. (Axios) Los Angeles County declared a state of emergency due to ICE raids there, an action that will allow the county to aid residents who need help with rent and legal aid. (ABC News)
Fox no’s: Fox News, until recently the employer of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, won’t sign the Pentagon’s new rules on reporting. (Politico) One America News is the only outlet that will submit to the policy. (Washington Post) Meanwhile, the Pentagon has ordered staff to watch Hegseth’s recent address at Quantico and “made clear that there would be reprimands” if they hadn’t. (Zeteo)
Administration perambulation: Trump ordered the killing of another group of people in a boat in the Caribbean, asserting without providing evidence that they were bringing drugs to the US. (NYT) Young Republican leaders “referred to Black people as monkeys,” “talked about raping their enemies,” and “lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery,” leaked group chat texts show. (Politico) Four of these specimens (the portraits in that story, wow) have lost their jobs so far. (Playbook) Vice President JD Vance called criticism of that chat “pearl clutching.” (JD Vance/X) The administration forced out a prosecutor in Virginia who “refused to sideline a high-ranking career prosecutor” who found evidence in the Justice Department’s investigation of an FBI investigation into Russian involvement with Trump’s first presidential campaign “flimsy.” (NYT) The US canceled visas for six people who “made derisive comments or made light of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last month.” (AP) Trump posthumously awarded Kirk the Medal of Freedom yesterday. (NYT) Deadly flooding took place in an Alaskan region where EPA once worked to prevent flooding. The administration canceled the grant for that work earlier this year. (NYT)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• An anti-Trump encampment that feds dismantled near Union Station earlier this month got a permit—somehow, during the shutdown, it’s not clear how—to set up again.
• Tom Sietsema dishes about the disguises and fake names he used as the Washington Post’s food critic.
• If, like me, you enjoy “howl” puns, you will love this list of dog-related Halloween events around the region.
• Local chefs tell us about the kitchen gadgets they keep handy.
• This April wedding at the National Museum of Women in the Arts had a black-and-white aesthetic and a classic feel.
Local news links:
• DC Council members Kenyan McDuffie and Janeese Lewis George may run for mayor. Muriel Bowser is mulling whether to pursue a fourth term. (Axios D.C.)
• The teens who attacked Edward “Big Balls” Coristine—an incident that prompted Trump’s takeover of DC’s police department and deployment of National Guard troops—received sentences of probation. (Washington Post)
• Eduardo Valdivia, a former FBI agent, will spend 60 years in prison for the rape of three women in tattoo shops he owned. (Washington Post)
• DC residents can now get marriage licenses during a government shutdown. (WTOP)
• Authorities say Ashley J. Tellis, a former member of the National Security Council, had “pages with classification markings” in his Vienna basement. Tellis, who was charged with violating the Espionage Act, had dinner with Chinese officials locally on multiple occasions, the FBI says. (Washington Post)
• The body of Mohammed Kasin Hasan, who jumped off the 14th Street Bridge while being pursued by police earlier this month, was found in the Potomac. (Dave Statter/X)
• Eight Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority commissioners resigned yesterday after the city’s council demanded they go. One commissioner, Kevin Harris, refused to go. (ALXnow) The agency has been awash in controversy since its now-former CEO was found living in one of the authority’s units. (Washington Post)
• Montgomery County native Rei Ami provides the singing voice of Zoey, a character in “KPop Demon Hunters.” (Baltimore Banner)
Wednesday’s event picks:
• A new exhibition of Montgomery County artist Tawny Chatmon‘s work opens at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
• The “Mother of All Comedy Shows” brings a lineup of women comics to Denizens Brewing Co.
• The Howl-O-Ween Bark Crawl will give dogs and humans a tour of Navy Yard.
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.
