LEESBURG, Virginia — House Democrats gathered here this week for their annual issues conference, but they didn’t much talk about issues.
“This has probably been the least wonky issues conference I’ve ever been to,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee.
Instead, members talked more about polling and messaging following their devastating losses in November, where Republicans reclaimed the White House and both chambers of Congress, and are now working to advance a party-line budget bill, rewinding recent Democratic accomplishments.
While past conferences have featured speakers like former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz or former Loan Programs Office Director Jigar Shah, there was virtually no energy or climate policy talk this year, said members granted anonymity to talk about internal sessions.
