Axios D.C.

March 23, 2026
Welcome back, Monday!
🌧️ Today's weather: Showers and thunderstorms, then partly sunny. High 60, low of 33.
🎂 Happy birthday to our members Allison Murphy and Julia Howe!
Today's newsletter is 992 words — a 3.5-minute read.
1 big thing: 🚳 Trump admin axes beloved bike lane
NPS will remove the 15th Street bike lane on the National Mall today, chopping up one of the city's longest protected bike paths from uptown to the monuments.
Why it matters: It's a hyperlocal turn in the Trump administration's ongoing quest to reshape the District.
🚗 State of play: The bike lane on 15th from Constitution Avenue through the Tidal Basin will revert to car traffic, said a source with knowledge of the plan who wasn't authorized to speak about it. (NPS controls that space since it's federal land.)
- Untouched: The bike lane north of Constitution under local DDOT control.
NPS tells Axios: "With the upcoming National Cherry Blossom Festival and preparations underway for America's 250th anniversary, ensuring safe access for residents, commuters, visitors and emergency services is a shared priority."
📉 The other side: Backlash grew over the weekend, with a protest bike ride and Virginia Rep. Don Beyer and 10 other members of Congress speaking out against the plans.
- The removal would "increase conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles at one of the busiest times of year," Mayor Bowser said.
- DDOT tells Axios it recently published a study showing the 15th Street protected bike lane has "reduced all roadway crashes by 46% and bicycle injury crashes by 91%."
More disruptions ahead: The Pennsylvania Avenue bike lane is likely to be dismantled — at least temporarily — for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix race on Aug. 22–23.
2. Stephen Miller doxing case escalates
The Republican chair of the House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed a progressive prosecutor in NoVa over her handling of the alleged doxing of Stephen Miller.
The big picture: Rep. Jim Jordan's decision to involve Congress marks a new escalation in a politically charged incident that pitted MAGA Republicans in D.C. against Democrat-aligned justice officials in Arlington.
Zoom in: Jordan subpoenaed Arlington's top local prosecutor, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, for a raft of files concerning the way she handled Miller's alleged doxing last year.
- At the center of the incident is Barbara Wien, a 66-year-old retiree who posted flyers of Miller's face along with his home address around his Arlington neighborhood, Axios previously reported.
The intrigue: Jordan and Miller, one of Trump's longest-serving advisers, accused Deghani-Tafti of impeding the case when, as prosecutor, she appeared to make the unusual move of siding with Wien's defense in calling for limits on an FBI search warrant.
- The state judge agreed, amending the warrant and limiting the information shared with the FBI.
- Jordan's subpoena demands the files by April 7.
The other side: Dehghani-Tafti has retained prominent defense attorney Abbe Lowell, whose past clients have ranged from Jared Kushner to Hunter Biden.
- "Since President Trump took office, House Republicans have made clear that harassing political opponents takes priority over actually governing to bring down the cost of living, keep families safe from rogue federal agents, and ensure our children aren't sent off to fight illegal wars," he told Axios.
- The subpoena about a local investigation is "clearly outside" of Jordan's jurisdiction and "plainly none of his business," says Lowell.
Wien told the Washington Post earlier this year that her protest of Miller was not intended to be violent.
- Wien's attorney, Bradley Haywood, previously accused state police of unlawfully holding Wien's phone, saying she didn't commit a crime. "It could not be clearer," Haywood told Axios. "This is protected speech."
The backstory: According to court records and a previous interview with Miller and his wife, podcaster Katie Miller, Wien was posting flyers in their neighborhood that said: "NO NAZIS IN NOVA."
- That day, Wien walked by the Millers' home, made eye contact with Katie Miller, and made an "I'm watching you" gesture with her fingers, according to a Secret Service surveillance video clip.
- The timing of the encounter — 24 hours after the assassination of conservative activist and podcaster Charlie Kirk — led prosecutors to pursue an investigation into Wien on doxing violations, based on Virginia law and a federal statute.
3. Around the Beltway: 🌸 Early peak?!
🌸 The Tidal Basin's cherry blossoms have reached their best-sounding stage — peduncle elongation! — and may even peak early.
📉 Few situations were monitored on opening night of Polymarket's "Situation Room" pop-up bar downtown, which suffered electricity and WiFi issues that left the tech-heavy concept virtually tech-less. (Washingtonian)
🛫 The long-awaited Manassas airport is set to take off next year — and they're seeking community input for an official name (no, Planey McPlaneface is not an option). (WTOP)
4. 🤧 Buy more tissues

Allergy season is getting longer in many cities amid climate change, according to a new Climate Central analysis.
- In D.C., the season grew by 22 days between 1970 and 2025.
- That's a little worse than the average (21 days) among cities with an increase.
How it works: Plants' freeze-free growing seasons are lengthening. The time between the last and first freeze is used here to represent allergy season.
Zoom out: Allergy season has lengthened the most in the Northwest, where the freeze-free period is now 31 days longer on average.
5. 🦬 Big bison energy

There's a new herd on the Mall, and we're not talking cherry blossom tourists.
🦬 Driving the news: The Smithsonian just installed two larger-than-life bronze bison outside the Natural History Museum — permanent sculptures by renowned paleo-artist Gary Staab.
Why it matters: The bison, based on historic Smithsonian specimens, celebrate the comeback of America's national mammal, once near extinction.
By the numbers: The bovines clock in at 2,500 pounds each — 125% life-size.
- They traveled over 1,600 miles from Colorado.
Fun fact: In the late 1800s, four real bison lived on the Mall — part of efforts to raise awareness of the threatened species.
What's next: The installation tees up Natural History's new exhibit, "Bison: Standing Strong," opening May 7.

🦬 Anna wishes bison still roamed the Mall.
👟 Cuneyt is going for a run.
👶 Mimi is on parental leave
Today's newsletter was edited by Kristen Hinman.
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