From a November 13 story by Mark Leibovich, chief national correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, headlined “A Return of Old Washington In Defiance of a Raucous Era”:
WASHINGTON — After so much noise, a formal feeling fell upon the Capitol. The civil servants had entered the room.
In a sense, seriousness itself stood trial on Wednesday as William B. Taylor Jr., the top American diplomat in Ukraine, and George P. Kent, a top State Department official, strode into the velvet-draped hearing room just after 10 a.m. They wore stern stares and were seemingly oblivious to the discord that brought them there. . . .
In pursuing an impeachment inquiry, Democrats were not only asserting authority over a president they believe had run amok. They were also showcasing career diplomats who embodied so-called permanent Washington. . . .
This collision was probably inevitable from the second the 45th president took his hand off the Bible in January 2017. It was a clash between Trump Washington and old Washington, the disrupter and disrupted, the bull and the china shop. . . .
After a few hours, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Kent were asked if they needed a break. They turned to each other, turned up their palms and shrugged simultaneously. Mr. Schiff announced a five-minute recess. Mr. Taylor made a beeline for a side exit and the men’s room, where he was greeted as a “star witness” by a fellow relief seeker.
“I don’t know about that star witness thing,” he said again, shaking his head.
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