I’m back from vacation. The transition has been smooth so far, in part because I paid too much attention to work while I was out.

I’m here in Washington all week, and I expect to focus mainly, but not exclusively, on border security work. The Homeland Security appropriations bill is in committee in the House tomorrow. While we’ve done all we can to influence the outcome, the Republican majority that drafts the bill is going to accede to the White House’s wishes. This is an opportunity to make noise and strategize for next steps. Expect a written analysis this week.

The House will also mark up the foreign aid bill on Wednesday, so we’ll probably have some analysis of that done as well. The bill will not cut foreign aid as drastically as the Trump administration wants, but the House bill still calls for some painful steps that we can hopefully avoid later in the legislative process.

I also hope to finish a memo on U.S.-Colombia relations following the theme of the podcast I recorded last week. And to do a lot of research. It’s nice to be back on the job.