The cherry blossoms are beginning to bloom in Washington, D.C., but inside the Beltway, there’s little sign of renewal—only a thick fog of uncertainty. After a brief return to D.C., I found a city still reeling from the shock of the Trump administration’s return to power and scrambling to decipher what it means for America’s engagement with the African continent.

In July of last year, I walked these same corridors and caught an early whiff of apprehension. Policy experts, think tank fellows, and even junior staffers in the State Department spoke cautiously about a potential Trump comeback. Now, that hypothetical has hardened into reality, but the fears have not given way to clarity. In fact, they’ve only deepened.