Axios D.C.
February 27, 2025
1 big thing: MAGA's haute new hangout
Trump World 2.0 is busy building new D.C. clubhouses, and while Butterworth's bistro wasn't on many bingo cards, the nouveau French restaurant has quickly emerged as the destination du jour for MAGA elites.
Why it matters: Trump's inner circle likes to own its social spots, or at least occupy them (e.g. Harry's Bar, the Kennedy Center), and all-day "Butterworth's Club" is the latest conquest — and one eager to accommodate.
State of play: The grandmère-chic dining room on Capitol Hill opened in October before the election, but it was already primed to be a power player. Major investor Alex Butterworth, senior counsel for Uber, may have his name on the door. But ex-Breitbart editor Raheem Kassam, another mega-investor in the restaurant, draws a select clientele.
- Restaurant sources tell Axios that Amazon hosted their holiday party in a private room.
- One hospitality insider tells Axios people call it "Steve Bannon's restaurant," though he's not officially involved. The "War Room" podcaster lives nearby and holds court at private parties.
Inside the room: Chef/partner Bart Hutchins tells Axios the bistro wasn't a MAGA magnet upon opening. He worked for years at neighbor Beuchert's Saloon, and at first, saw many of his old regulars from all sides of the aisle.
Inauguration weekend was the turning point when bold-faced names — Kash Patel, Elon Musk, singer Grimes — popped up along with right-wing media stars like Curtis Yarvan and George Santos. The bar poured "American Carnage" and "Covfefe" cocktails (private party hosts can name their drinks for the night).
Zoom out: A hospitality veteran who opened "Canadian disco-bistro" Le Mont Royal, Hutchins curated the vibe at Butterworth's. His inspiration: throwback power rooms like LA's Spago and Dudley in New York.
The intrigue: Butterworth's menu of fried rabbit and natty wines bucks the Trumpian stereotype of McDonald's and well-done steak. But Hutchins, who measures success by selling more head cheese than cheeseburgers, says his field-to-table philosophy jives with the RFK Jr. acolytes and MAHA crowd.
- "They're super interested in bone marrow, liver, feet," says Hutchins.
- "Before, the audience for offal was Berkley hippie types who knew who Alice Waters was. Now it's right-wing staffers showing up and asking for the same stuff."
2. 💡 Virginia Tech opens new Innovation Campus in Alexandria
Virginia Tech's new Innovation Campus celebrates its grand opening this week.
Why it matters: The tech-focused graduate school, in Alexandria's Potomac Yard neighborhood, is a critical part of National Landing and Northern Virginia rebranding into innovation centers.
The big picture: Virginia and several partners have pledged over $2 billion to educate and support more tech students and graduates — a key reason Arlington was picked as Amazon's HQ2 location.
- That money funded the Innovation Campus, as well as George Mason's new Fuse building in Arlington, which combines labs focused on virtual reality and AI with work areas for industry pros — and some robots.
State of play: Over 500 students have been taking classes since the beginning of the year at the first building to open on Virginia Tech's three-and-a-half-acre campus.
- It offers programs in fields like computer engineering, computer science and business.
- When Axios visited, students led demonstrations on work they're doing to keep AI systems like ChatGPT safe and to program drones for situations like disaster relief.
The 11-story, 300,000-square-foot, geometric-looking building is home to a public visitor's center, the Boeing Auditorium, 14 classrooms, a two-story drone testing cage, a cyber physical lab for testing wireless technology, and a center for artificial intelligence and data analytics.
3. Around the Beltway: White House signals large-scale layoffs
4. 💵 Mapped: How much federal workers make
D.C., Maryland and Virginia have the highest federal wages per worker, per Labor Department data.
- Federal workers in D.C. make about $136,000 per worker, those in Maryland make about $126,000 per worker, and those in Virginia make about $111,000 per worker.
All three areas also rank in the top five for most federal workers overall.
- D.C. has about 191,000 federal workers, Virginia has 189,000, and Maryland has 158,000.
New jobs to check out
5. 🎬 1 film thing: "Zero Day"
Eric Schultz — a political adviser to former President Obama, and former White House principal deputy press secretary and Senate aide — is credited on-screen as a political consultant for the new Netflix political thriller, "Zero Day," starring Robert De Niro.
- De Niro portrays a former U.S. president reckoning with a major cyberattack.
- Axios and its "morning newsletter" get a shout-out in Episode 1.
Schultz spent several weeks on-set for filming of White House and congressional scenes — advising the director, actors and crew on production, including set design, costumes, props, dialogue and blocking.
- Schultz advised on the energy and dynamics of the real Oval Office and briefing room — showing how reporters all scream over each other. and how officials respond to the barrage of questions.
Schultz told me: "The series is terrifying because of how real it feels."
Axios D.C.
