Good morning. Dick Cheney has died. The former vice president was 84. It’s Election Day in Virginia; find your polling place here. Sun and breeze with occasional gusts today and a high around 62. Gusts continue overnight, with a low near 41. 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:
Kimya Dawson, “You Love Me.” Such a sweet tune. Dawson plays the Black Cat tonight with Art Sorority and Rosslyn Station. (Masking is requested at the show.)
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 turns 35 days old today, tying the record for the longest one of these dumb things, which was set during President Trump‘s first term. The administration said yesterday it would pay half of November’s SNAP benefits after two judges ordered it to use contingency funds to do so. (Washington Post) But “recipients in some states may not see their November benefits for weeks – or even months.” (CNN) Credit unions that serve federal workers have seen a surge of loan applications. (Federal News Network) Air traffic controllers and TSA agents, who have worked without pay since the shutdown began, have begun to call in sick in greater numbers, prompting flight delays. (Government Executive) Screening delays in Houston hit the three-hour mark yesterday. (Chron.com) The U.S. Travel Association warned that Thanksgiving travel could be a nightmare if this thing continues. (Axios) Head Start centers have begun to close, “leaving working parents scrambling for child care and shutting some of the nation’s neediest children out of preschool.” (AP)
The view from the Hill: Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he was “optimistic”—but not “confident”—about discussions to end the impasse. (Politico) Thune says an off-ramp is in sight, but “the talks are very fragile at this point and there’s still a long way to go.” The end date of any continuing resolution to fund the government is going to be a big issue. (Punchbowl News) Moderate Democrats and Republicans floated a plan that would extend Obamacare tax credits for two years for many Americans. (Axios) Divisions are showing among Democrats—such an agreement “would fall short of what many Democrats have drawn as a red line.” (Politico)
Decision course: Trump endorsed Andrew Cuomo in the New York mayoral race. His onetime political foe is polling far behind Zohran Mamdani. (NYT) He instructed voters in Virginia to vote against Democratic gubernatorial nominee and frontrunner Abigail Spanberger, but withheld an explicit endorsement of her GOP opponent, Winsome Earle-Sears. (Politico) Here’s what else politics-watchers will be politics-watching tonight, including New Jersey’s gubernatorial race and California’s redistricting proposal. (NYT)
Administration perambulation: A report by Ralph Nader‘s Public Citizen says a group of donors to Trump’s ballroom project “received $279 billion in government contracts over the past five years and spent $1.6 billion in political contributions and lobbying fees during that time.” (Washington Post) CBS News posted the full transcript of its interview with Trump, who sued the network over how it edited a “60 Minutes” profile of Kamala Harris, sparking debate about what it should have included. “Much like the old notion that everyone’s a critic, with this move everyone can be an editor.” (AP) The Heritage Foundation, which produced the blueprint for the Trump administration, finds itself at the center of a culture war on the right over “Groypers”—followers of the white nationalist Nick Fuentes. We’re going to need more eating-popcorn GIFs here at Washingtonian Today HQ. (The Bulwark) A conservative party in Albania has paid the consulting firms of Trump advisers Chris LaCivita and Tony Fabrizio $1.62 million to advise it in elections this spring in which the party got walloped. (NYT) The administration has ousted Federal Housing Finance Agency’s acting inspector general, Joe Allen, as agency director Bill Pulte uses his perch to investigate Trump’s perceived enemies. (Reuters) Federal prosecutors in Virginia attempted to make the case that the feds’ prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey is not being vindictively prosecuted. (ABC News) Laura Loomer got credentials to cover the Pentagon. (Washington Post) US Representative Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado, attended a Halloween party “dressed in a traditional Mexican dress” with a sombrero atop her head and her boyfriend, Kyle Pearcy, “wore an ICE vest over fatigues.” (ABC News)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• In the real estate market? Good luck. Here’s our guide to getting through it during a time of extraordinary change in the region.
• Isaac Stein‘s hot dog cart was a “backyard art project” before the shutdown. Now the IRS lawyer’s stand, named Shyster’s, is a local attraction with a line down the block when we visited.
• Good samaritans in Maryland continue to search for a deer with a Halloween bucket stuck on its head.
Local news links:
• The FBI and US Secret Service are among the authorities that have investigated Arlington activist Barbara Wien because she publicized the address of Trump adviser Stephen Miller. (NYT)
• Jury selection began in the misdemeanor assault trial of Sean Dunn, aka “Sandwich Guy.” (AP) In an unforgivable failure for members of the local and national media, including Washingtonian Today, few commentators pointed out that Monday was also National Sandwich Day.
• Maryland Governor Wes Moore has begun the process of redistricting the state despite the opposition of a top Democrat in the state senate. (Washington Post)
• MacKenzie Scott donated $80 million to Howard University. It’s the latest HBCU in the region to benefit from Scott’s largesse. (Washington Post)
• Federal agencies have tightened restrictions on when their employees may vote today. (Federal News Network)
• Virginia lieutenant governor nominee Ghazala Hashmi visited Del Ray yesterday. (ALXnow)
• Growth has slowed in most Thrift Savings Plan funds. (Government Executive)
• Ikea confirmed that it will open a new store on the site of the Dulles Expo Center. (WTOP)
• RIP Washington Post reporter Edward Cody, who “represented a vanishing breed of foreign correspondent.” (Washington Post)
Tuesday’s event picks:
• “Fiddler on the Roof” opens at Signature Theatre.
• Sasha Cooke and Myra Huang perform at the Kennedy Center.
• Rebecca Ballard moderates a discussion with Tracy Reese and Katrina Orsini about “Agency in Fashion” at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
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.
