Good morning. Showers this morning, then partly sunny with a high around 70. Gusts possible overnight, with a low near 47.
Sports this weekend: The Wizards visit Atlanta tonight for an NBA Cup matchup, then head to Oklahoma City for a game on Saturday. The Capitals host the Florida Panthers Saturday. D.C. United close out their season with a match against New York City FC at Audi Field Saturday afternoon. The Commanders host the Rams on Sunday. The Washington Spirit will host the Portland Thorns at Audi Field for a playoff match on Sunday.
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I can’t stop listening to
Lime Garden, “All Bad Parts.” Lime Garden’s LP “Maybe Not Tonight” is one of my favorite records of 2026, and I’m ecstatic that they’ll play a sold-out show at Songbyrd on Sunday with nina1am.
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
Arch on Washington
A federal judge halted construction on President Trump‘s planned 250-foot-high Triumphal Arch near Arlington Cemetery not long after the National Capital Planning Commission, which the President has packed with supporters, approved it. (NYT) US District Judge Tanya Chutkan cited the “sheer improbability” of the administration’s argument that Congress actually approved the project 100 years ago and placed a two-week block on construction, which Democrats have said they will halt when they take over Congress next year. (Washington Post)
Out of dodge
US Secretary of State, national security adviser, and former acting head of the National Archives Marco Rubio is reportedly eyeing the exits after the drubbing the GOP suffered on Tuesday. (Bloomberg) “I always laugh when they say he’s going to leave his job,” Rubio said while denying the report. “I go, ‘Which one?’” (NYT) Harmeet Dhillon resigned from the Justice Department, where she turned the civil rights division into an instrument of right wing pressure campaigns. Dhillon and other officials may not want to stick around for congressional investigations. (NYT) Trump has reportedly moved from the phoning-friends-to-ask-about Pete Hegseth to considering replacements for the defense secretary, whose enthusiasm for Trump’s war with Iran helped contribute to Republicans’ national thumping. (NBC News) US Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a Republican, said he plans to begin impeachment proceedings against Hegseth ASAP. (Stars and Stripes) “Somebody’s gotta take the fall, and Pete is moving to the top of the list,” a senior official said. (Axios)
Right stuff
The White House’s Office of Public Liaison told conservative groups it was “monitoring statements, press releases, and media engagements from your organizations” about blame for the GOP’s midterm disaster. Some took that statement as a threat. (WSJ) Vice President JD Vance‘s presidential hopes could hinge on him convincing “MAGA’s disillusioned voters that he understands their sense of betrayal” over the war. (Axios) Many prominent figures in right wing media are turning on one another as they process the midterm shellacking. (Bulwark) Others are going further: Tucker Carlson said the widespread losses augured the “end of the Trump era.” (HuffPost)
Administration perambulation
Democrats in Congress may seek to block funding for the Iran war before the end of the year, which could spark a shutdown fight. (Politico) DOJ hopes to make a criminal case against whoever leaked the Supreme Court’s draft opinion striking down Roe v. Wade to Politico reporters in 2022. Whoever may be accused could take some small comfort in the fact that US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro and her top deputy Carlton Davis, who’ve overseen numerous failed prosecutions of Trump foes, are in charge of the investigation. (NYT) Appeals court judges in New York heard arguments by Trump’s lawyers who hope they’ll overturn his felony conviction in the matter of hush money paid to Stormy Daniels—and also by prosecutors who made the case. (AP) Trump declared the Oval Office and Cabinet Room national landmarks in an attempt to prevent future Presidents from removing his gold décor touches. A lawyer who works in historic preservation called the move “legally meaningless.” (Washington Post) It was the second day in a row after a major electoral defeat that the President “focused on rooms and renovations at the White House” during his public appearances. (NBC News)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com
• Acclaimed Savannah restaurateurs Mashama Bailey and Johno Morisano will open two restaurants in DC: The Diner Bar by the Grey will open in the JW Marriott in December, and the Grey on Penn, a more upscale eatery, will follow next spring.
• John Wall spoke to us about his new gig calling Wizards games and shared some advice for the team’s new stars.
• Last month’s most expensive residential real estate transactions—and the bold-faced names that made them.
• Here are nine ideas for ways you can help others in your community this Thanksgiving.
• The best-looking open houses this weekend.
Local news links
• Speaking of Pete Hegseth, he authorized the National Guard troops in DC to use boats, patrol cars, and even Humvees to help them do whatever it is they do around here. (Politico)
• Around 60 percent of Virginia voters approved the commonwealth’s three constitutional amendments Tuesday, which suggests support for them crossed party lines. (Virginia Mercury)
• Maryland got final approval to build two four-lane spans across the Chesapeake Bay. They’ll eventually replace the current Bay Bridge complex. (WUSA9)
• The large Kalahari resort water park you may have seen taking shape on I-95 south of Fredericksburg will open next week. (WBJ)
• US Representative Haley Stevens of Michigan canceled a planned appearance at a George Washington University panel last night. Her fellow Democratic US Rep Jamie Raskin of Maryland did show up and said Stevens’s last-minute endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers, who lost the Michigan Senate race to Abdul El-Sayed, “ended up really pleasing us because it caused, you know, a huge boomerang and backfire on them.” (Washington Sun)
• A former FBI agent from Ashburn pleaded guilty to stealing almost $2.5 million in cryptocurrency from people the bureau was investigating. Prosecutors say Patrick Steven Yaroch asked ChatGPT for advice on what to do with his loot, and, on the robot’s suggestion, explored buying a vineyard in Portugal. (Fox 5)
Things to Do
Friday: Celebrate Diwali at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.
Saturday: It’s Adams Morgan PorchFest time.
Sunday: The Cox Farms Fall Festival closes today.
See many more ideas for the weekend 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.
