Photo illustration by Emma Spainhoward with photograph by Getty Images.

Good morning. Sunny with a high around 51 today—not too bad! Rain chances overnight, with a low near 41. The Capitals host Montreal tonight. 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:

Sarah Hughes, “Unique Corn (No. 1).” DC artist Hughes plays Rhizome tonight with LiButti/Leguía/Nadien, Jenny Moon Tucker, and Plutonian Burrito.

Take Washingtonian Today with you! I’ve made a playlist on Spotify and on Apple Music of last year’s music recommendations. I’ll make one for 2026 soon.

Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:

We’re all trying to find the guy who did this: Some in the White House were “blindsided” by the Justice Department’s probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, which President Trump claims to know nothing about despite threatening to sue him two weeks ago. Some of those anonymously rattled individuals blame Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who also claims he had nothing to do with the investigation. (Politico) Weird coincidence: Pulte met recently with Trump and “shared a prop resembling a ‘wanted poster’” that featured Powell’s image. (Washington Post) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Trump the probe “made a mess” and could rattle markets. (Axios) Some Hill Republicans are wigging out, too. (Politico) Powell has retained Williams & Connolly amid Trump’s attacks on him, and the investigation could prompt him to remain as a Fed governor until 2028. (NYT) Indeed, Trump’s frequent public complaints about Powell—whom he nominated to the job in 2017—could undercut any eventual attempt to prosecute him. (Politico) Meanwhile: Trump’s increasingly miffed at Attorney General Pam Bondi, whom he blames for not going after his perceived enemies more. (WSJ) Bondi’s department fired a top prosecutor in Virginia’s Eastern District who declined to prosecute Trump’s bête noir James Comey. (MS Now)

Playing defense: The US used an aircraft disguised as a civilian plane to attack people it claims were brining drugs to the US last year, which was probably a war crime. (NYT) US Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona has sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a censure letter and investigation Hegseth has promoted against Kelly after he joined other lawmakers in a video that reminded US troops they don’t have to obey illegal orders. (Washington Post) Trump is hot to throw some military strikes at Iran. (WSJ) The White House hopes to convince Republicans on the Hill not to vote for a measure that would require Trump to consult with Congress before taking military action. (Politico) A bipartisan group of US lawmakers will travel to Copenhagen to try to reassure European leaders despite Trump’s threats to annex Greenland. (AP)

The ICE storm: Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration to try to stop the deployment of more immigration agents there. (NBC News) So did leaders in Illinois. (Chicago Tribune) Trump told reporters ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed unarmed Minnesota woman Renee Good because she was “very, very disrespectful.” (NYT) The FBI is investigating Good and is unlikely to file charges against Ross. (NYT) Top officials at DOJ’s Civil Rights division have quit in protest over the administration’s handling of this incident. (MS Now) Ross told neighbors in Minnesota that he was a botanist. (People) Billionaire social-media personality Bill Ackman gave $10,000 to a GoFundMe for Ross. (The Intercept) Meanwhile: Immigration officials detained an employee of New York’s city council during a regular check-in, and that’s not going over very well. (WPIX)

Administration perambulation: Two top aides to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer are on leave after being accused of “devising official events for Chavez-DeRemer in order to facilitate her personal travel.” (Politico) A federal judge in DC ruled that Trump can’t withhold clean energy grants to states that didn’t vote for him. (AP) Another federal judge in DC said Trump can’t block a wind-energy program in Rhode Island. (NYT) The EPA will no longer consider how many lives might be saved when it mulls changes to air pollution rules. (NYT) Trump threatened tariffs on countries that trade with Iran. (Politico) The BBC asked a court in Florida to dismiss Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against it there, noting that the British broadcaster does not air shows in Florida. (Reuters) Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones  and OpenAI President Greg Brockman are among the wealthy megadoners to Trump’s superPAC. (NBC News) Jack Smith will testify before Congress next week. (NBC News) Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, will leave his post early following “an awkward confrontation” with Trump last fall. (Politico) How we got two groups planning this year’s semiquincentennial celebration. (Semafor) A former sailor got 16 years for “providing sensitive military information to China.” (CBS News) Feds say Christopher Southerland, a former House staffer, stole more than 200 cellphones, many of which they say he sold to a local pawn shop. (NBC News)

This year’s fee-free days at national parks, by Daniella Byck:
Great Falls. Photo via NPS.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is next Monday, and typically the holiday would be the first free entry day of the year at national parks such as Shenandoah, Great Falls, and Harpers Ferry. However, the National Park Service will not offer free access on MLK Day in 2026, so plan to pay if you’re headed on an outdoor adventure this weekend. Other fee-free days that were dropped from the list this year: the first day of National Park Week, Juneteenth, Great American Outdoors Act Signing Day, and National Public Lands Day. Veterans Day remains a free entry day, joined by Presidents Day and George Washington’s birthday (February 16), Memorial Day (May 25), Flag Day and Donald Trump’s birthday (June 14), 4th of July weekend (July 3-5), the 110th birthday of the National Park Service (August 25), Constitution Day (September 17), and Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday (October 27). The Department of the Interior is referring to those dates as “patriotic fee-free days,” with complimentary entry available only to US citizens and permanent residents—another update this year. Finally, America the Beautiful annual passes, which cover entry and day-use fees, are now available in digital form for residents ($80) and non-residents ($250).

Recently on Washingtonian dot com:

• A first look at Churasuko, a swanky new Japanese-Brazilian steakhouse at Tysons.

• These were the most popular library books around the area last year.

• Plan your week with picks from our events maestra, Briana Thomas.

Local news links:

• Allegations that a Fairfax public schools employee “facilitated and funded abortions for students” were bogus, investigators found. (NBC4 Washington)

• A kid with measles traveled from Philadelphia to the Washington area, taking public transportation along the way. (Washington Post)

• US Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland is among the people pushing for a DC memorial to Thomas Paine. (AP)

•  A Maryland woman has been charged with assault after a viral incident at an Alexandria grocery store. (NBC4 Washington)

• DC closed what officials say was its 100th illegal cannabis business on New Year’s Day. (WTOP)

• A sign promoting a Turning Point USA project at an Arlington bakery has called all manner of tsouris. (ARLnow)

• Mathew McCollough, who directed DC’s Office of Disability Rights, has died. (WTOP)

• Crooked Beat Records may leave its Del Ray location after a flood. (ALXnow)

• Penn Social hosts an evangelical church on Sunday that’s popular with MAGA types. (Vanity Fair)

Senior editor

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.