Good morning. Sunny and breezy again with a high around 65. A low near 44 overnight. The Washington Wizards begin their regular season tonight with a visit to the Milwaukee Bucks. 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:
Lebanon Hanover, “Torture Rack.” The goth dreams of the ’80s are alive in Lebanon Hanover’s music. They’ll play Black Cat tonight with Jim E Brown.
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: Imagine the government shutdown were to end today. In that case—about as likely as a swift resolution to the Louvre heist investigation—Congress would have less than a month to agree on how to fund the government for a year. (Punchbowl News) Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said yesterday they’d asked President Trump for a meeting—the three haven’t met since September. (Politico) Meanwhile, the White House continues to find ways to shield some Americans from the shutdown’s deprivations: It will release $3 billion in aid to US farmers who are already reeling from the effects of Trump’s trade war. (WSJ) Here’s a good look at how the administration “has taken a series of unorthodox steps to reprogram billions of dollars in enacted spending” during the shutdown. (NYT) Meanwhile: Arizona’s attorney general, Kris Mayes, filed suit over House Speaker Mike Johnson‘s refusal to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, an action he claims he can’t perform because of the shutdown.(NBC News)
Pictures at a demolition: Photos show that Trump has all but obliterated the East Wing of the White House—not merely removed the facade—as he installs a ballroom paid for by private donors. (Law Dork) The National Trust for Historic Preservation pleaded with the administration to quiet the wrecking balls and go through the normal approval process to build the ballroom, whose square footage will be nearly twice that of the entire current White House. The administration claims it’s merely following in a grand tradition of Presidents reshaping the building, and says it will rebuild the East Wing—but remember it earlier claimed that “Nothing will be torn down.” (Washington Post) Now that that pesky East Wing is gone, the White House says it will submit plans to the National Capital Planning Commission for review. Hope they like the direction of the project! (Reuters)
Payday moan: Trump “is demanding that the Justice Department pay him about $230 million in compensation for the federal investigations into him” over his 2016 campaign and when he was out of power. He, of course, oversees the people who will decide whether to pay him. “The ethical conflict is just so basic and fundamental, you don’t need a law professor to explain it,” one professor said. (NYT) “It’s interesting, ‘cause I’m the one that makes the decision, right?” Trump said yesterday. Yes, that is interesting, agreed. (AP) Meanwhile: Trump critics who—unlike James Comey, Letitia James, and John Bolton—aren’t currently facing federal charges are preparing for the inevitable knock on the door. (NBC News) In New Jersey, a federal judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security to remove social media posts about the prosecution of US Representative LaMonica McIver. (NYT)
Apparently there’s still a line you can’t cross: Paul Ingrassia withdrew from his nomination to run the Office of Special Counsel after Politico reported about racist texts in a group chat—often the venues for GOP PR challenges this year—where he said he had a “Nazi streak.” He’ll keep his current job as a White House liaison to DHS. (Politico) Enough Republican Senators abandoned ship after the texts surfaced. (AP) Earlier this year, Ingrassia’s mother, Donna Gallo Ingrassia, visited the Capitol and attempted to meet with Democratic lawmakers she believed had demeaned her son. (NOTUS) Surprisingly, there’s more Nazi-adjacent news today: Graham Platner, a Democrat running for Senate in Maine, said he would remove a tattoo that “resembles a Nazi skull and crossbones” following online criticism. Platner says he was unaware of its meaning and had been drinking when he chose it. (Politico)
Recently, in ICE: Say, here’s a sentence you don’t read every day: “An ICE agent wounded a deputy U.S. marshal and a TikTok streamer on Tuesday in a South Los Angeles enforcement operation that went awry.” (LAT) Masked federal agents targeted vendors in New York’s Chinatown yesterday. Several protesters “were slammed to the ground by federal agents and dragged past police barricades into 26 Federal Plaza.” (The City) ICE arrested Ruben Torres Maldonado, whose daughter is undergoing cancer treatment. DHS claims the arrest is necessary because of what it calls Maldonado’s “habitual driving offenses.” (Chicago Tribune) ICE still won’t answer questions about one of the lawyers representing it in Dallas who reportedly “operates a white supremacist X account.” (Texas Observer)
Administration perambulation: The administration plans to retool the US’s refugee resettlement program so that white South Africans will be the overwhelming recipients of new lives in the US. (Washington Post) U.Va is close to a deal to end the White House’s pressure campaign against it over admission standards. (NYT) Pentagon officials must obtain permission to speak to anyone on Capitol Hill following orders from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. (Breaking Defense)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Cowbell Seafood & Oyster will open tomorrow in Union Market in the space once occupied by Rappahannock Oyster Bar. That means the Fancy Ranch Fried Chicken pop-up Cowbell’s owners Sara Quinteros and Reid Shilling have run in the space recently will shutter—and, yes, the name is a tribute to the SNL sketch.
• Photos from our Tech Titans reception last Wednesday.
Local news links:
• Sean Dunn, aka “Sandwich Guy,” asked a judge to dismiss the misdemeanor assault charge the feds filed against him after their attempts to get him on felony charges failed, arguing that “he is being selectively and vindictively prosecuted.” (WUSA9)
• Workers at I.M.P., the local concert giant that owns or operates the 9:30 Club, the Anthem, and other venues (full disclosure: My oldest son works for I.M.P as a stagehand) have unionized. (Washington Post)
• A car slammed into a White House security gate, but don’t worry, the building wasn’t damaged. Thank you, I’ll be here all week. (Politico)
• Former President Obama will campaign with Abigail Spanberger soon. (AP)
• Federal workers can ride MARC for free during the shutdown. (NBC4 Washington)
• A woman hit by a falling tree in Arlington last month has died. (ARLnow)
• The DC Council will hold a hearing today on a bill “intended to curb ticket scalping and increase transparency for ticket purchasers in the District.” (Washington City Paper)
• The owner of an Arlington house with “a reputation of having paranormal activity” has applied to turn it into a historic district. Approval is likely. (ARLnow)
• Someone’s putting up signs around DC aimed at National Guard members deployed here: It has a QR code they can scan that takes them to a form where they can “request peer or legal support to explore their options.” (PoPville)
Wednesday’s event picks:
• PumpkinPalooza takes over NoMa with music, beer, and lots and lots of the titular gourds.
• Aly & AJ play the Anthem.
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.
