Good morning. Sunny with a high around 90 today. A low near 70 overnight. The Nationals are at the Red Sox again this evening. 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 Proclaimers, “Letter From America.” My week of songs about the US continues: Maybe it’s because I’m married to an immigrant, but this song about a Scot trying to picture an acquaintance’s new life in the New World always makes me a little misty.
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:
Majority report: President Trump suffered some setbacks at the Supreme Court yesterday, but the court also allowed him to enlarge his already expansive views of presidential powers in an important decision. The court’s conservative majority allowed Trump’s firing of the head of the Federal Trade Commission, handing him and future Presidents the power to control independent regulatory agencies. (Washington Post) It thwarted Trump’s immediate bid to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, but “did not totally foreclose on the president’s ability to try to dismiss [Fed] officials in the future.” (NYT) The court will issue the last decisions of its term today, including one about Trump’s executive order regarding birthright citizenship. (Roll Call)
Other big rulings yesterday: The court declined to consider Trump’s appeal of a verdict in Manhattan that found he sexually assaulted the writer E. Jean Carroll and ordered him to pay her $5 million. Trump is also planning to appeal an $83 million verdict against him in a subsequent defamation case brought by Carroll. (SCOTUSblog) SCOTUS ruled that states can accept ballots after Election Day as long as they’ve been postmarked in time, zapping a long-time Trump obsession. (Politico) The justices declined to take up Alan Dershowitz‘s defamation case against CNN. (AP) They also declined to take up Roy Moore‘s appeal of a defamation case he initially won but lost on appeal. (NYT) And the court enhanced some privacy protections regarding location data. (Politico)
Administration perambulation: Trump called a bipartisan bill aimed at reducing housing costs “a yawn” and “so unimportant.” (NYT) A federal judge in New York permanently blocked Trump’s attempts to withhold funding for a rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey. (WSJ) Trump nominated Keith Sonderling to head the Department of Labor. Sonderling has run the department in an acting capacity since the defenestration of his scandal-plagued predecessor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer. (Hill) The Justice Department is investigating campaign spending by US Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona. Gallego said the prosecution was politically motivated. (Axios) Jason Miller is expected to return to the White House soon. (Washington Post) DC joined 25 states to challenge administration rules regarding work requirements for Medicaid recipients. (Axios) Pressure has been building for Trump to pardon Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui, who received a 30-year sentence for fraud yesterday. (WSJ) ICE released Sister Leticia Ugboaja. Federal agents arrested the nun while she was walking to Mass and wearing her habit. (AP) Trump posted a photo that purported to show a large golden eagle glued onto the White House’s Truman Balcony. (CNN)
Take your overheated dog for a swim, by Daniella Byck:
If I could switch bodies with anyone for a day, it would be my family’s dog, Oshie. This guy is just living on good vibes, pup cups, and fun adventures. His favorite activity of all? Swimming. Given the sweltering heat this week, your furry friend may enjoy a splash session as well. In the dog days of summer, it’s worth driving to a nearby dog beach so they can cool down. Sorry, Oshie, but I have to spill your favorite spots. Quiet Waters Park is just outside of Annapolis, around a 45-minute drive from Washington. The designated beach is a nice spot for dogs to jump into the river and roll in the sand. An hour outside Washington, the larger dog area at Matapeake Clubhouse and Beach on Kent Island is accessible via a short woodland path from the parking lot. Once you emerge, it’s like being at an aquatic dog park, a free-for-all of running and fetch into the water.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Winners at last night’s RAMMY Awards, which celebrate the region’s food and drink scene, included Fernando González, named Restaurateur of the Year for Riverdale’s 2Fifty; the Occidental, which won Best New Restaurant; and Adams Morgan’s Tsehay, the first Ethiopian restaurant to win a RAMMY.
• Bill Maher received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center Sunday night. Joy was notably absent, however, because things are weird at the Kennedy Center right now.
Local news links:
Fireworks news: DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said yesterday that Trump’s planned July 4 fireworks display won’t begin until 11 PM—we have known for some time that the guy does not like dogs. (Axios D.C.) Airspace over National Airport will be closed for a total of 15 hours over July 3 and 4. (NOTUS) Expect “TSA-level screening” if you go to the Mall. (City Cast DC)
• Virginia’s General Assembly approved a two-year budget, ending a long slog. (Virginia Mercury)
• The District will pay Sam O’Hara $50,000 because DC cops cuffed him for following National Guard members around town while playing the “Imperial March” from “Star Wars.” (AP)
• A fire at a first-responder-training facility in Lorton caused a lot of damage. (NBC4 Washington)
• Fairfax police say a driver was “actively using her cellphone” when she hit and killed a pedestrian. The cops say she fled the scene. (NBC4 Washington)
• Two coaches at Arlington’s Wakefield High School—alma mater to quite a few accomplished people, and also to me—were named Coach of the Year for their sports, an unusual occurrence. (ARLnow)
Tuesday’s event pick:
• Take in some Bard outdoors with a performance of “As You Like It” in Brookside Gardens.
See more picks for this week 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.
