Santa isn't just coming to town — he's taking over downtown D.C., which will transform into a sprawling holiday village with new markets, an indoor ice rink, light installations and more.

Why it matters: Holiday fun aside, the city's winter programming is snowballing in an ongoing effort to bring vibrancy and more business downtown.

⛸️ Driving the news: Shiny new things! The Holiday Skate Spectacular takes over the National Building Museum (Dec. 16-Jan. 4) with a free, synthetic indoor rink. Skate rentals are just $5.

But first, the nearby DowntownDC Holiday Market (Nov. 22-Dec. 23), which marks its 20th year in Penn Quarter, is undergoing "a rejuvenating transformation" under fresh management from The Makers Show, which runs major markets in Boston and Brooklyn.

• Expect an expanded lineup of 110 vendors and businesses, most of which are women-, LGBTQ+ or BIPOC-owned. Look for jewelry, home goods, food stalls, a chalet-style market bar with hot cocktails and more.

The intrigue: The tinseltown shakeup came with some drama that led to the market's original organizer launching DC Holiday Market at Dupont Circle (Nov. 22-Dec. 15).

🎨 Over by Chinatown, Sandlot co-founder Ian Callender tells Axios he's planning the "Gallery Space at Gallery Place," temporarily taking over the huge, Metro-adjacent retail space vacated by Urban Outfitters four years ago.

• Callender, whose arts and culture-driven venues pop up in vacant or transitioning lots around the city, isn't going all-in on a theme. His vision: a local artist gallery, studio space and homegrown vendor market.

❄️Also new: The National Mistletoe Activation, which launches in late November, will bring a sparkling art installation near the Carnegie Library.

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President-elect Trump wants to put familiar faces on his national security team after being burned during his first term.

• Why it matters: Sources said Trump doesn't want former generals on his national security team and prefers businessmen and CEOs. But he's also considering a line-up of loyalists in prominent D.C. positions.

Trump said several times that during his transition, he'd begin pushing for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to end the war.

• He also signaled in public and in private that he wants to see the wars in Gaza and Lebanon end by the time he is inaugurated.

🔎 Zoom in: Here are the top contenders, based on people close to this process.

State Department: A top candidate for secretary of state is former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell, the sources said.

• The sources said Grenell advised Trump on foreign policy during the campaign and would likely focus on Russia-Ukraine diplomacy.
• Two other candidates for the Secretary of State job are Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), who served as ambassador to Japan during Trump's first term, and Trump's former national security adviser Robert O'Brien.

🪖 Defense Department and intelligence agencies: Several names have been floated for Defense Secretary, including former SecState Mike Pompeo and Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.).

• Waltz could also be considered for CIA director, in addition to John Ratcliffe, who briefly served as Director of National Intelligence under Trump.

The White House: Grenell and Waltz are also potential candidates for national security adviser.

Others to watch.

The Women's March group is returning with a series of D.C. protests in light of Trump's win.

Why it matters: The first Women's March was held the day after Trump's 2017 inauguration to protest what the participants saw as threats the administration posed to issues like civil rights and gender equality. It's considered to be the U.S.' biggest-ever single-day demonstration.

• And now, almost eight years later, the group is protesting another Trump presidency.

State of play: The Women's March group will host a rally in D.C. Saturday at Columbus Circle in front of Union Station "to build community and power ahead of another Trump term," a spokesperson tells Axios.

• It will host a rally in New York, too.

What's ahead: The group will also host a "massive People's March" in D.C. on Jan. 18, the Saturday before Trump's second inauguration.

• The site hasn't yet been determined, per the spokesperson.

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📱 Locals have reported receiving racist texts referencing slavery. In Virginia and Maryland — where texts were received by public school kids — people are advised to contact local authorities and school counselors. District residents should contact the attorney general's office. (NBC4)

📣 Trump has appointed his co-campaign manager Susie Wiles as his new White House chief of staff. She'll be the first woman to serve in the role.

• Wiles is a longtime Florida operative, but served in former President Reagan's Labor Department, in his White House as a scheduler and on Capitol Hill for the late Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.). (Axios)

🏢 The Washington Post will require workers to return to the downtown office five days a week by June 2, 2025, Axios' Sara Fischer reports.

Award-winning chef and former NFL player Tobias Dorzon and a companion were shot by multiple gunmen and robbed on Tuesday night in Hyattsville. Both were hospitalized with serious injuries but expected to recover. Police are searching for five suspects. (WTOP)

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer. The 74-year-old says he has no symptoms and is seeking immediate chemotherapy treatment. (CNN)

🔍Plan ahead with these events.

Cirque du Soul : Our Stories In The Spotlight at Cramton Auditorium on Nov 22: This year's theme celebrates Black women's shared experiences, inviting the audience to witness our strength, resilience, and unstoppable Black girl magic as we relentlessly overcome every challenge. $10.

Hosting an event? Email [email protected].

Unhappy with election results and interested in moving? It's a common sentiment after elections.

Zoom in: Nearly 1 in 3 frequent voters say living in a place where most people share their political views is very or extremely important, compared to 17% of occasional voters and 8% of inactive voters.

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Franco Nuschese is celebrating the 32nd anniversary of Cafe Milano this week, his Georgetown power-dining destination that opened on the day Bill Clinton was elected president. 

• Milano's staying power has endured many-a White House transitions: Trump never visited, though his pals often did, and President Biden dropped in for its angel hair pasta. 

"You know the difference between me and you?" Clinton has told Nuschese. "You are not term-limited."