Good morning. A high temperature around 54 today with light breezes. Rain overnight, with a low around 49. The Capitals host Toronto tonight. The Wizards visit San Antonio. 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 avail able as a morning email newsletter. Sign up here. I can’t stop listening to: Trio Sefardi, “La Yave d’Espanya.” This very cool Virginia group plays Sephardic songs from Spain, and this song rues the expulsion of Jews from Iberia in 1492. Trio Sefardi plays the “Winter Revels: Andalusian Treasures” program at Montgomery County College tonight, and the program continues through December 20. Take Washingtonian Today with you! I’ve made a playlist on Spotify and on Apple Music of my daily music recommendations this year. Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out: The talking cure: President Trump attempted to address Americans’ growing fears about affordability in a televised speech last night where he argued that he was in charge of everything but responsible for nothing tough they were experiencing, and he claimed better times were coming. Here’s the transcript of the speech, which leaned heavily on familiar culture-war arguments. (NYT) Trump blamed immigrants, Democrats—who control zero branches of government—and former President Biden for the United States’ woes, and praised his own tariffs, which have helped to raise consumer prices. (Washington Post) He said he would send members of the US military a $1,776 bonus check, though it’s not clear how the US will fund the bonuses. (Axios) One area of the economy that’s holding on: Trump’s keeping fact-checkers busy. (NYT) (AP) (CNN) Meanwhile: Absent any clear direction from Trump, Republicans in the House allowed Covid-era Obamacare subsidies to expire yesterday, more or less guaranteeing millions of Americans will see their insurance costs soar next year as they voted on a bill that offered a conservative vision of health care and has no chance of succeeding in the Senate. (Politico) That vote followed a revolt among GOP moderates who joined a discharge petition to allow a vote on the House floor about the subsidies, which, under House rules, can’t happen for at least seven days. (CNN) House Speaker Mike Johnson said, “I have not lost control of the House” after the defection. (The Hill) Now comes the messaging. (Politico) Retribution watch: The administration cut grant funding to the American Academy of Pediatrics after the group criticized Health Secretary RFK Jr.‘s policies. (Washington Post) Take it back: The administration hopes to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans, and has set a quota of “100-200 denaturalization cases per month.” (NYT) A federal judge blocked limits the White House on visits members of Congress can make to immigration facilities. (Politico) Here’s how Trump’s immigration crackdown, which he portrayed as addressing a crime emergency, landed on one DC neighborhood. (Washington Post) D’oh! J: Former special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers yesterday that his office had found “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump had “engaged in a ‘criminal scheme’ to overturn the results of the 2020 election.” (NBC News) The testimony was delivered privately, per Republican demands. (AP) Meanwhile: Dan Bongino said he will leave the FBI next month, ending a rather weird tenure there. (NYT) Administration perambulation: Trump’s relationship with disgraced, deceased financier Jeffery Epstein was “both far closer and far more complex than the president now admits.” (NYT) Trump discussed the possibility of serving a third term—which he cannot do—with Alan Dershowitz last week. (WSJ) The US oil industry has been cool to the administration’s outreach about returning to Venezuela if Trump is able to oust Nicolás Maduro. (Politico) Here’s how Trump’s family’s wealth has grown since his reelection. (WSJ) A federal judge in California said the administration broke the law when it ordered layoffs during the shutdown. (Politico) In response to a new US Coast Guard policy that downgrades symbols of hate in a workplace manual, senators have halted the nomination of Admiral Kevin Lunday to lead that service. (Washington Post) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants to overhaul DOD’s chaplain corps, calling the current system “unacceptable and unserious.” (Stars and Stripes) US Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana grilled Trump judicial nominee Justin Olson about his past statements, including about whether disabled people should be allowed to marry. (TPM) Federal prosecutors tried to add another charge to the star-crossed prosecution of Trump’s perceived enemy Letitia James last week, but that didn’t work, either. (Politico) Trump installed plaques criticizing his predecessors under their photos at the White House. (AP) Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen: Photo by Ike Allen. A flashy new restaurant seems to have opened in the Eden Center every time I visit—witness the futuristic Pop-Up District food hall—but my most rewarding experiences tend to come when I wander the labyrinth of indoor hallways to try a place that’s been quietly turning out the same dish for years. Bánh Cuốn Saigon is one such establishment. Its delicate namesake rice noodle rolls are on every table, but I especially liked the bánh bột lọc—crystalline tapioca flour orbs enveloping shrimp, with the same addictive funky-herbal flavors and shower of crispy shallots as a salad I enjoyed recently at Ha’s Snack Bar, the impossible-to-book Manhattan Franco-Vietnamese spot. No long lines at Bánh Cuốn Saigon—just consistent, highly specialized Vietnamese cooking. (6795 Wilson Blvd., #54, Falls Church.) Recently on Washingtonian dot com: • As audiences stay away from the Kennedy Center following Trump’s takeover, NSO violist Daniel Foster now sees smaller audiences than he did in the past. He told us about doing a normally nonpolitical job at a suddenly very political institution. • On Capitol Hill, Thompson-Markward Hall has offered young women in DC a modestly priced launching pad since the 19th century. • DC’s Hector Biaggi wants to find all the pandas from a 2004 city-wide art project. Here are some highlights from the 60 or so he’s identified so far. Local news links: • DC Mayor Muriel Bowser named Jeffery Carroll as the District’s interim police chief while the city searches for a replacement for outgoing boss Pamela Smith. (Washington Post) • The National Guard deployment in DC can continue for now, a federal appeals court ruled. (AP) • The US admitted fault in the deadly crash over the Potomac this past January. (NBC4 Washington) • DC is part of a settlement plan from Hyundai and Kia over claims that the companies didn’t install technology that could deter thefts. (AP) • Someone with measles visited Virginia. (Washington Post) • Police in Arlington say a DC man beat up three people, then peed in public. (ARLnow) • A DC landlord is suing Tyra Banks over a failed “hot ice cream” project. (Axios D.C.) • Laurene Powell Jobs will sell her stake in Monumental Sports Entertainment to a Qatari sovereign wealth fund and a private equity firm. (The Athletic) • Politico’s print edition will roll off the presses for the last time today. Here’s its final front page. (Politico) Thursday’s event pick: • John Mulaney‘s at the Anthem. See more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.The post Trump Gives Weird Speech, Bongino Leaves FBI, Tyra Banks Sued in DC first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less