Photo illustration by Emma Spainhoward with photograph by Getty Images.Good morning. Peak bloom—when 70 percent of the Yoshino cherry trees that ring the Tidal Basin are in full blossom—could be declared any moment now. A high of 68 and a chance of showers this afternoon. On balance, not bad. A low around 56 tonight. A lot of local sports action this weekend: The Washington Spirit will play Bay FC at Audi Field tonight. The University of Maryland will face the University of South Carolina in a Sweet 16 game tonight. The Nationals host the Phillies Saturday and Sunday. The DC Defenders will open their season at home against the Birmingham Stallions Saturday. D.C. United plays Columbus at home on Saturday. The Wizards will host Brooklyn Saturday, and the Capitals will be at home against Buffalo on Sunday. Old Glory DC is at LA on Saturday. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below. The final four of our first-date-bar bracket is out: Jane Jane, All Souls, Bar Charley, and Bar a Vin are all eyeing the championship. Vote now for who will advance to the championship round on Monday. I can’t stop listening to: Beth Gibbons, “Floating on a Moment.” A cool, twitchy, rather spooky song from the Portishead singer’s 2024 solo LP. Gibbons plays the Anthem Sunday with Cass McCombs. Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out: Your time is up, woke meerkats: President Trump may have found a way to make people in Washington take their eyes off Signalgate: He’s announced last night he intends to mess with the Smithsonian. (ABC News) He’s charged Vice President JD Vance with eliminating “improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology from the Smithsonian and its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo.” (White House) Historians are not terribly into this initiative. (Washington Post) • Trump also signed a vague executive order regarding the District of Columbia, charging a task force with addressing crime and immigration enforcement in the city. No local officials are involved. (Washington Post) And yet Signalgate continues: US District Judge James E. Boasberg ordered Mike Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and others not to delete messages from the world’s most famous group chat. (NYT) Wired found more administration officials who hadn’t set their Venmo to private. (Wired) “Interviews with multiple current and former national security officials this week, including career military and civilian officials, reflect growing concerns about Hegseth’s leadership at the Pentagon.” (CNN) “What happens when Hegseth needs to manage a real crisis?” (Politico) Irony alert: While the administration is circling the wagons around people on the chat, earlier this year it placed a DHS staffer on administrative leave after she mistakenly CC’d a journalist on an email about an ICE operation. (NBC News) Cuts, cuts, cuts: Federal agencies are eyeing cuts of “between 8 and 50 percent of their employees.” (Washington Post) Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he would cut almost a quarter of his agency’s workforce yesterday. (Washington Post) “Health staffers entrusted with regulating prescription drugs, managing public health programs and conducting scientific research were blindsided by the cuts.” (Politico) Trump also issued an order that would end collective bargaining at many agencies, and the American Federation of Government Employees says it will sue. (NYT) Flashing lights? Trump yanked US Representative Elise Stefanik‘s nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations, citing the GOP’s thin margin in the House. (NYT) The move is the “clearest sign yet that the political environment has become so challenging for Republicans that they don’t want to risk a special election even in safe, red seats.” (Politico) • Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is looking for a deal to avoid a Trump EO about its firm. (NYT) Another order came down, this time about WilmerHale. (Washington Post) • The President warned carmakers not to raise prices in response to his tariffs. (WSJ) A most snazzy open house this weekend: Photograph by David Pipkin. This four-bedroom, three bathroom house on Klingle Road, Northwest, has cathedral ceilings, a brick patio, a fireplace, built-ins, a two-car garage, and views of Rock Creek Park. It’s listed at $2.8 million. See more of Kate Corliss‘s open house picks for the weekend here. Recently on Washingtonian dot com: • Our guide to cultural events next month includes Tyler, the Creator, Luisa Miller, and Lucy Dacus. • Uchi, a restaurant chain that specializes in non-traditional takes on Japanese cuisine, will open in DC this fall. • Onggi, a contemporary Korean restaurant, will officially open in Dupont Circle on April 1. • Wed-elweiss: This couple hosted a “Sound of Music” sing-along before they eloped. • Here’s a dreamy engagement session captured during last year’s peak bloom. Local news links: • DC Mayor Muriel Bowser delayed the District’s next budget until Congress decides whether it will fix the mess it made with this year’s plan. (Washington Post) • The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington wants to eliminate I-82, which will eliminate the tipped minimum wage. (Axios D.C.) • False collision reports at National Airport “were caused by drone testing being conducted by the Secret Service and U.S. Navy” (WUSA9) Weekend event picks: Friday: “The Two Georges,” a new exhibit about George Washington and King George III, opens at the Library of Congress. Saturday: Finally a use for all that wind! Blossom Kite Festival takes over the Washington Monument grounds. Sunday: National Harbor’s annual Sakura Sunday promises a Japanese pop-up market, art, music and dance, culinary treats, and more. See more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter. Bonus event pick from me: “Backstage with d.c. space” will assemble some of the people who ran the famous downtown nightclub, with music by the Messthetics, at the Palisades Hub on Sunday. Get tickets here. Did you miss our 100 Very Best Restaurants List? It’s here. Congrats, you’ve made it to Friday. See you bright and early Monday morning.The post Trump Goes After Woke at the National Zoo, DC Restaurants Hope to Overturn I-82, and Peak Bloom Looms first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less