Good morning. Sunny with a high around 86 today. A low near 66 overnight. The Nats host Philadelphia again this evening.
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I can’t stop listening to:
TLC, “No Scrubs.” I sing this song at least once a week, usually to my dogs, who often deserve the warning that I don’t want them hanging out the passenger side of their best friend’s ride, trying to holler at me. Oh yes, son, I’m talking to you. TLC play Jiffy Lube Live tonight with Salt-n-Pepa and En Vogue.
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:
Arts complexifier: Tuesday was a momentous day in the history of the Kennedy Center, whose board, stocked with allies of President Trump, voted to close the building after a judge ruled that the President could not slap his name back on the building. Before that happened, we spoke with an administrative law professor about the administration’s bewildering legal strategy in this matter. Trump called in to the board’s meeting and berated US Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, a board member whose lawsuit got Trump’s name off the building in the first place. The center closed to the public at 4:30 yesterday. Trump said he wouldn’t allow a planned renovation to proceed unless the Supreme Court okayed the addition of his name. Read on below for a report by Sylvie McNamara from the courthouse, where a judge raised the intriguing possibility that Trump could get kicked off the center’s board.
The war: Seven Republicans in the US House of Representatives joined Democrats to vote to a non-binding resolution that directs Trump to end the Iran war he started more than six months ago. (NYT) A report from the Congressional Budget Office says the war cost the US $38 billion between late February and August 1 and “could cost about $2 billion to $3 billion per month going forward.” (Washington Post) US Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a Republican, launched an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The articles don’t cite the Iran war but a vote on the doomed legislation will be difficult for some Republicans. (Politico) GOP lawmakers “have lost hope that the Iran war will end before the midterms.” (NBC News) Meanwhile, in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia accused the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen of attempting to attack the holy city of Mecca, an act the rebels denied. (AP) Saudi military commanders joined counterparts from the US, Israel, and other Gulf nations last week to discuss the widening war. (Axios) Photos from service members show the “widespread damage and destruction of buildings and vehicles” at US facilities in the region due to Iranian attacks. (CBS News)
Analog v. digital: Democrats in the US Senate blocked a bill that would regulate cryptocurrency, citing “concerns about Trump’s crypto empire, which earned him more than $1.4 billion in 2025.” (Washington Post) As far as regulated securities go, Trump “made nearly 28,700 trades” between his second inauguration and June 30, more than all members of Congress made combined. (Bloomberg) Commenters on Trump’s social media site criticized his defense of AI and data centers, suggesting some of his most fervent supporters aren’t with him on this issue. (NYT) Few lawmakers use AI, though this article does not especially reckon with the possibility that some people—like yours truly—tried it but didn’t find it useful for their work. (Axios)
Vote on: Trump raged online against justices on the US Supreme Court who voted against his attempts to restrict mail-in voting. (AP) The court has increasingly blocked the President since December. (NYT) Meanwhile, elections officials are waiting to see what Trump does next. (Politico)
Administration perambulation: The Fed is likely to raise interest rates today. (NPR) Nicole Saphier, who represents Trump’s third attempt to nominate a surgeon general, will get quizzed by senators today. (Washington Post) FBI Director Kash Patel refused to say whether Trump or Joe Biden won the 2020 election during questioning from senators yesterday. (Washington Post) The efforts of Elon Musk‘s DOGE project, which sought to slash bureaucracy, resulted in the administration paying federal workers “$9.5 billion not to work during 2025.” (NYT) The Pentagon wants only troops who can “meet waist-to-height requirements and exhibit ‘impeccable’ grooming standards” to attend an upcoming Hegseth speech. (WSJ) Trump’s nomination of Hung Cao to be Navy Secretary is in trouble on the Hill. (Punchbowl News) Pennsylvania reported two more measles deaths. (Politico) A federal judge in DC blocked ICE and the Department of Homeland Security from menacing him further over an email he sent to ICE’s former acting director. (NPR) Details are scant, but the government seeks to get access to a journalist’s LinkedIn activity as part of a leak investigation. (Politico) More than half of Americans polled said Trump is “corrupt” and “dangerous.” (Axios)
A Kennedy Center courthouse report from Sylvie McNamara:
A couple of hours before ruling that Trump can’t put his name back on the Kennedy Center, US District Judge Christopher Cooper held a hearing at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse downtown. I was struck by a moment near the end when the judge raised the specter of receivership. It has long been reported that the Kennedy Center’s finances are in dire shape, and the Trump administration recently admitted that the Kennedy Center may go bankrupt “within a matter of weeks.” As I reported yesterday, a federal entity like the Kennedy Center is probably not eligible for bankruptcy—but receivership might be fair game. What this would actually mean for the Kennedy Center is not yet clear, since there’s no real precedent for an institution like this. But Cooper’s comment raises some pretty thorny questions, such as, could the receiver actually oust a sitting president from his chairmanship of the board? The judge raised the possibility of receivership unprompted—and Joyce Beatty’s legal team seemed enthusiastic about the idea—so it seems like perhaps there’s more to come.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Joia Burger will open two new DC locations this fall: A carryout-only outpost on 14th Street, Northwest, and a kiosk at Capital One Arena.
• A new book by the artist Ashley Longshore reimagines US Presidents in drag.
• A bright, cheery Annapolis wedding.
Local news links:
Trayon White trial: The bribery trial of DC Council member Trayon White opened with an attempt by White’s defense team to discredit Allieu Kamara, the businessman seen handing White envelopes of cash while discussing government contracts in FBI videos. (Axios D.C.) The prosecution played the videos in court yesterday while his defense team revealed a surprising fact: Kamara was once White’s brother-in-law. (City Cast DC) White’s attorneys won’t “dispute that he accepted the cash from Kamara, but rather question whether he actively solicited the payments.” (Washington Sun)
• The administration plans to install “warning signs” outside the National Museum of American History that will accuse it of being biased. (Atlantic)
• The FBI said it had foiled a Russian plot to kill a dissident living in DC. (Washington Sun)
• Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin appeared in an ad for a political party that supports Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Capitals said Ovi is focused “on the season ahead.” (Washington Post)
• Loudoun County’s board of supervisors voted to pause data center applications for the next year, saying it was not instituting a ban but needed time to craft new regulations. (NBC4 Washington)
• Arlington must remove Flock cameras in the next few weeks, the county board said. (WUSA)
• Smithsonian’s National Zoo broke ground on a Saudi-funded new leopard habitat yesterday. (Axios D.C.)
Wednesday’s event pick:
• AFI Silver’s Latin American Film Festival kicks off today.
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.
