On my way to dinner on Saturday, I drove past Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s house on the Virginia bank of the Potomac River.

Police had just removed an anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protest encampment that had turned the road into a mess of rags and flags and tents since January. Now, seven police cruisers were parked in their place with red and blue lights twinkling in the golden light of a glorious evening in late July.