Good morning. Another cool day is ahead, with partly sunny skies and a high only around 43. A low near 32 overnight. The Capitals host Ottawa tonight. 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:
Jonathan Richman, “Everybody Loves Dolly.” The absolute legend appears at 9:30 tonight, and, of course, Tommy Larkins will be on the drums.
Take Washingtonian Today with you! I keep ridiculously long playlists on Apple Music and on Spotify of this year’s music recommendations. Here are 2025’s songs (Apple, Spotify), too.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
War news: Iran struck Tel Aviv, killing two people in an attack it said was revenge for the killing of two leaders yesterday. Israel struck a building in Beirut, and the US dropped large bombs on missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz. ¶ National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent resigned, telling President Trump in a letter that he could not support the President’s war in Iran. (NYT) Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Kent’s now former boss who once sold T-shirts that read “No War With Iran” and who has skirted questions about her views of this war, will appear before the US Senate today. (NBC News) ¶ The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier will head to Crete for repairs after a fire in its laundry facilities. (USNI News) ¶ The national average price for a gallon of gas in the US rose to $3.84. (AAA) ¶ Trump railed against US allies, saying, “We don’t need any help, actually” after lukewarm responses to his requests for help securing the Strait of Hormuz. (AP) US Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said he spoke on the phone with Trump yesterday and “never heard him so angry in my life.” (Politico) ¶ Russia has expanded its aid to Iran. (WSJ)
The new guy: The Senate will begin to consider the nomination of US Senator Markwayne Mullin to take over leadership of the Department of Homeland Security after Trump fired Kristi Noem. His confirmation will likely “sail through.” (Punchbowl News) Republicans hope Mullin can right the agency after Noem’s turbulent tenure and end a standoff between Democrats and the White House that has left DHS shut down for a month. Democrats are not as optimistic about the likelihood Mullin will bring change to the agency. (Politico) The White House made an offer to Dems yesterday that Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said wasn’t serious. (Politico) Mullin “has privately hinted to colleagues that he was involved in dangerous private security work in Middle East war zones before running for Congress in 2012,” something there’s “no public record” of. (Axios)
Active Voice: A federal judge in DC ordered more than 1,000 Voice of America employees who’ve been on paid leave for a year back to work, saying Trump’s attempts to wind down the agency were illegal. (Washington Post) The order “amounted to a sharp rebuke to the administration.” (Politico) VOA’s operations will resume amid the war with Iran. (CNN)
Administration perambulation: The Senate voted to begin debate over the SAVE America Act, a voter-ID bill that Trump says is his top legislative priority. (The Hill) The bill’s prospects are poor. (Politico) House Oversight Committee chair James Comer subpoenaed US Attorney General Pam Bondi to discuss DOJ’s handling of the release of its files regarding the deceased, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. (Politico) A federal judge hearing a challenge to Trump’s plans for a massive ballroom on the site of the now-demolished East Wing appeared skeptical of the administration’s arguments that it doesn’t need congressional approval for the project. (Washington Post) A year after Trump and Elon Musk‘s DOGE project took over the US Institute of Peace, its headquarters building “lies defunct,” with Trump’s name slapped on a sign outside the property. (It’s not far from the Kennedy Center, which Trump also took over, slapped his name on, and plans to close.) (NYT) US District Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary—for now—order that the “judiciary be notified when a grand jury rejects the Trump administration’s attempts to indict defendants,” as in the case of six Democrats in Congress who appeared in a video that angered Trump. (NBC News) Another chapter in the saga of who is in charge of the US Attorney’s office in New Jersey: US Judge Zahid N. Quraishi “threw a top prosecutor from the New Jersey U.S. attorney’s office out of his courtroom during a sentencing hearing this week and demanded that the office’s leadership testify about who had authority over their actions.” (NYT) Federal Highway Administration honcho Sean McMaster bought stock in a transportation company, which the agency says is not a conflict of interest. (NOTUS) A question I have asked about members of my own household that has had surprising national resonance: “Why Do Men Buy Shoes That Are Too Big?” (NYT)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Did you get a little too into the St. Patrick’s spirit last night? Here’s a list of local dishes that will help you fight a hangover.
• DC Water has finally repaired a sewer line that caused a massive spill in the Potomac. So…what’s next?
• Our food critic ordered a ton of takeout from Wonder, the new food hall chain that’s appeared all over town. Here’s what she’d order again—and what she’d skip.
Local news links:
• Virginia is set to establish a legal recreational cannabis market next year. (Virginia Mercury) Here’s a list of the bills on Governor Abigail Spanberger‘s desk. (Axios Richmond)
• The Washington Monument was briefly closed yesterday after someone burned a car nearby. (WUSA9)
• Virginia’s Department of Health lifted an advisory about recreational activities on the Potomac. (ALXnow)
• Police in Fairfax say they used a drone to nab a peeping tom. (NBC4 Washington)
• DC Council member Christina Henderson proposed new trash cans for DC, calling the current lidless models “an all-you-can-eat buffet” for rats. (WUSA9)
• Loudoun County plans to fight a new data center on the site of GW’s Ashburn campus. The school sold the property to Amazon, surprising county officials. (WTOP)
• The Safeway at 1601 Maryland Avenue, Northeast, will close this spring. (WUSA9)
• A trombone emoji designed by Maryland high school students is already available to Android users and will be on iPhones soon. (CBS Baltimore)
Wednesday’s event picks:
• FKA Twigs performs at the Anthem.
• Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” musical opens at National Theatre.
See more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.
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.
