Patrick Hruby
@patrickhruby.bsky.social
Deputy Editor, Washingtonian | Alum and bylines, many places | To pitch me: phruby@washingtonian.com | To reach me: www.patrickhruby.net
If you want to understand the larger context around Disney suing the FCC, @washingtonian.com has you covered! washingtonian.com/2026/07/30/h...
How Brendan Carr Became MAGA’s Media Watchdog - Washingtonian
Brendan Carr likes to climb towers. This began in the spring of 2018, when Carr was a newly minted member of the Federal Communications Commission and looking for a lane. Visiting a South Dakota train...
washingtonian.com
Presumptive DC delegate Robert White is entering one of the oddest jobs in politics: represent some 700,000 Washingtonians, without the voting power of a Congressional rep. That's part of why he hopes to persuade national Dems that DC statehood is in their interest: washingtonian.com/2026/08/19/r...
Robert White Is Ready to Fight for DC. Can He Win?
The presumptive DC congressional delegate wants to deliver economic wins—and statehood—to DC. In a time of deep political division, he faces an uphill climb.
washingtonian.com
Trump says the Smithsonian is too woke—but the real problem is that it’s too wordy! This @washingtonian.com piece from Sylvie McNamara on letting historical objects speak for themselves is a real banger, especially the butterfly ballot effect meditation at the end: washingtonian.com/2026/08/06/t...
Trump Is Attacking the Smithsonian. Is He Right? - Washingtonian
With the Smithsonian under attack from the Trump administration, one writer found that it's actually less woke than boring. The museum is drowning in wall text.
washingtonian.com
For @washingtonian.com, I spent the last few months talking to the influencer Tony P in DC and trying to figure out why we chase after attention even when it hurts us.
Guess What? Tony P Hates You, Too.
Online ridicule helped DC influencer Anthony Polcari go viral—and make money. As his social-media star wanes, he’s looking to jump to television. But can he afford to leave his snarkiest followers beh...
washingtonian.com
Thrilled to share this @washingtonian.com banger from @chrisalmeida.bsky.social on unlikely DC influencer Tony P and his many, many online haters—which is really about the costs of the attention economy: washingtonian.com/2026/08/06/t...
Guess What? Tony P Hates You, Too.
Online ridicule helped DC influencer Anthony Polcari go viral—and make money. As his social-media star wanes, he’s looking to jump to television. But can he afford to leave his snarkiest followers beh...
washingtonian.com
I’m interested in any political imagination for accountability. It has to be proactive & retroactive. It has to be spectacular. And, ideally, it would leave so many of them broke that it actually becomes a deterrent. Being poor is truly all they care about not because they don’t care about prison.
I have a piece in the NYT today arguing that the law should permit victims of ICE abuse to sue not just individual officers, but supervisors and policymakers like Stephen Miller and Gregory Bovino. A Democratic president and Congress could do this in 2029. And they could make it retroactive.
Opinion | ICE Is Out of Control. Here’s What to Do About It.
Congress must push back against our inhumane immigration tactics.
nytimes.com
I’m not a soccer knower, but England’s Oh No We Suck Again vibes are insanely powerful
the now-decades-long saga of tubman on the $20 bill is a great, if somewhat unimportant and symbolic, example of the democrats' lack of ability to Just Do Stuff
Joel Siegel@joelsiegel.bsky.social · 2mo ago“When asked by Spectrum News, "Is Treasury still planning to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, "We are not at present." ny1.com/nyc/all-boro...
Until we address the fact most talented soccer players in the US can’t afford to compete because club and travel teams have snuffed rec/school ball out, this is probably going to keep happening.
This is an actual screenshot from the syllabus for this class. Beyond parody
Robert Komaniecki@komaniecki.bsky.social · 2mo agoAfter decades of screeching that universities are indoctrinating the youth, Republicans are proud to roll out the new course, Mandatory Youth Indoctrination 1001
would love to see a hostile audit of Freedom 250. hell, would love to see hostile audits of everything even tangentially related to trump. this will produce endless material. you could conceivably bring the administration to an effective halt!
Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 2mo agoDemocrats are preparing a hostile audit of Trump and his inner circle, intent on exposing — and ultimately ending — the most lucrative presidency in American history. Dems see the presidential gold rush as corruption personified — and plan to bury Trump's orbit in subpoenas if they win the House.
"I ask him what the competition is like over on the Mall. 'Ain’t got no competition,' he says." @jsidman.bsky.social for @washingtonian.com washingtonian.com/2026/06/29/d...
Inside the Food Truck Mafia Wreaking Havoc Around the National Mall
Turf wars. Food and fire hazards. $15 ice-cream cones. How an organized network of unlicensed food trucks took over America's Front Lawn.
washingtonian.com
What was the point of the years of naked corruption if we're gonna get screwed like that?
With this ruling, the birthright issue is not going away. The right hasn't really begun *organizing* around getting rid of the citizenship clause. Like Roe, this will be their fight for a generation. And if the Democrats just say "we won" and ignore it, like Roe, the Republicans will eventually win.
Among other things, a 5-4 ruling on birthright citizenship is an invitation to try again.
The thing you need to understand is that there are 2 (TWO) different method for amending the constitution 1) The process laid out in the constititon itself (conventions, or 2/3's of both houses followed by 3/4 of states ratifying) OR 2) find five votes on the Supreme Court.
Forget the Not So Great American State Fair: the National Mall in DC has been overrun by pirate food trucks that the park police call organized crime. Come for nearly getting stabbed in the eye with a screwdriver, stay for $16.50 soft serve cones: washingtonian.com/2026/06/29/d...
Inside the Food Truck Mafia Wreaking Havoc Around the National Mall
Turf wars. Food and fire hazards. $15 ice-cream cones. How an organized network of unlicensed food trucks took over America's Front Lawn.
washingtonian.com
