Good morning. A sunny, windy day with a high temperature around 63 awaits. A low near 40 overnight. The Wizards visit Detroit this evening.
🌎 How well do you know the District? Play our geography game and test your local knowledge. 🤓 Thanks for reading. I’m on the new episode of Justin Moyer‘s “Off the Top” podcast today talking about one of the few subjects on which I’m well-versed: being bald. 📫 You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below. This roundup is available as a morning email newsletter. Sign up here.
I can’t stop listening to
Slippers, “Wants for Everyone.” Some lovely, vintage-sounding indie pop from this LA concern, which plays Songbyrd tonight with the Tubs.
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
The war
President Trump downplayed the prospect of new US attacks on Iran, which his administration had for weeks signaled were imminent. Trump said new strikes were “highly unlikely” while peace talks continue in the stalemated war he launched in February. (CNN) But Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Iran’s demands in those talks “outrageous and ridiculous.” (Bloomberg) Tehran wants the US to end its blockade of Iranian ports and sanctions against their country and pressed for talks’ swift resumption. (Reuters) Influential hardliners in Iran believe Trump has been weakened by the GOP’s wipeout in last week’s midterm elections and want to increase pressure on him. (CNN) “At the core of the problem, according to people engaged in the debate, is a fundamental issue: Mr. Trump and his aides still cannot agree on what they are trying to accomplish.” (NYT) The President said he agreed with Vice President JD Vance‘s assessment last week that the GOP paid a heavy price for the war in last week’s vote—but insisted that given the chance, he’d launch it all over again. (Politico)
The Miller era
Trump allowed that the war damaged Republicans in the midterms and said his immigration policies “might be too tough” for many Americans during a wide-ranging “60 Minutes” interview with Ross Douthat. (CBS News) But on the day of the interview, he also fired his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and replaced her with Stephen Miller, the architect of those immigration policies. And Miller made clear last week that he wants to tighten Trump’s crackdown. (NYT) Trump’s longtime aide “is expected to push a maximalist approach to executive power now that Democrats control Congress.” (WSJ)
Qui est «in», qui est «out»
US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones high-tailed it out of the Justice Department Friday. Quiñones was in charge of the troubled “grand conspiracy” cases in Florida the administration designed to punish Obama-era officials Trump believes worked against him. (NYT) DOJ’s National Security Division leader, John Eisenberg, also got out of Dodge before any congressional investigations can begin. (Politico) White House deputy chief of staff Richard Walters is scooting, too. (Axios) The US House of Representatives is likely to begin impeachment proceedings against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week. (Axios) US Representative James Comer of Kentucky, typically a defender of the administration, said “there’s a lot of questions about Hegseth” during an interview. (News Nation) Former deputy chief of staff James Blair and former health adviser Calley Means are feudin’ over the MAHA agenda. (WSJ) Means unloaded on Wiles over the weekend; US AG Todd Blanche defended her. (Axios)
Administration perambulation
Congress returns this week, and chances of a government shutdown are increasing. (Punchbowl News) Blanche floated the idea of investigating lawmakers who investigate the administration. (CNBC) The Justice Department considered naming the New York Times as a co-conspirator in its Trump-directed crusade against former FBI Director James Comey—in what appears to be an attempt to get around the statute of limitations regarding the matter at hand. (NYT) DOJ also gave up on its attempt to sequester 20,000 ballots from Californians it claims may not be US citizens. (AP) Trump’s ally Laura Loomer denied that she takes payments to post on social media, but a former Trump campaign aide says otherwise. (Washington Post) Trump claimed he was “only kidding” about appointing UFC honcho Dana White as press secretary. (WSJ) The President posted a video that depicted UFC fighters attacking reporters. (Washington Post) White said he’s scheduled to meet with Trump today. (NBC News)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com
Local news links
Trump v. DC
US District Judge Ana Reyes appointed Jessie Liu to look into whether DOJ misled her court as she heard a lawsuit over Trump’s plan to remake the East Potomac Golf Links. (NYT) DC Council member Brooke Pinto called on newly elected Democratic governors to pull National Guard troops from the District. (NBC4 Washington) Congress is about to take oversight of Trump’s DC projects. (AP) A bunch of national memorials are bathed in darkness while the National Park Service pursues Trump’s projects. (Washington Post)
Other local news
• DC Council member Christina Henderson un-became a Democrat, ending a standoff over who would take over the at-large seat vacated by Robert White, the District’s next non-voting delegate to Congress. (City Cast DC)
• The Commanders lost. (Washington Sun) But the Spirit decisively won their first playoff match. (Athletic)
• Dulles will show off its new Concourse E to invited guests today. (WTOP)
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.
