PHILADELPHIA — House Democrats looked to recalibrate and unify at their annual retreat in Philadelphia on Thursday after a chaotic night in the House derailed their plans to begin the conference on Wednesday.
Lawmakers arrived in the City of Brotherly Love around 2:30 a.m. on Thursday after divisions within the party over a pandemic relief-related provision in a $1.5 trillion government funding bill forced them to cancel Day One of the retreat, with the bill ultimately passing around 10 p.m. after the language was stripped from the measure. But despite the delayed start of the conference, lawmakers asserted they are looking to come together as they work to hone their messaging strategy ahead of the midterm elections.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat and chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told reporters on Thursday morning that she “had to squint because it felt a little too bright for me” in the wake of the late evening. But Jayapal was ready to discuss legislative priorities she feels will help the lawmakers retain seats.
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“As you know, as the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, we have been working hard on a number of different initiatives, including a slate of executive actions that we hope to be able to release next week,” Jayapal said. “And we are continuing to work on the possibilities of legislation as they might exist, let’s put it that way.”
But, she added, “We will not talk about ‘He who shall not be named’ or ‘That which shall not be named,’ Build Back Better — it’s like Voldemort. We just don’t say those words, but we continue to work on their pieces of legislation,” making a Harry Potter reference.
While the Build Back Better bill hit a wall in December, Jayapal noted significant challenges in passing a bill through both chambers this year. Still, the party must lean into messaging on the bill provisions that members would like to see accomplished moving forward.
“You know, elections are won on people believing your visions and buying into your vision, and the American people are not dumb. They understand that a vision doesn’t mean you’re going to get it all done immediately,” she said. “They want to see you fighting for it, and I can tell you that all last year’s Progressive Caucus stood up and fought to leave nobody behind. We inspire a lot of people.”
Republicans have voiced confidence in their ability to flip the House by linking vulnerable Democrats to progressive policies. House Republicans need to net five seats in the 435-member chamber to reclaim the majority the party lost in 2018.
Jayapal said she believes the liberal agenda will play better than expected in competitive seats.
“We’ll [the Progressive Caucus] continue to grow in our numbers, but we also care deeply about keeping the majority overall and being competitive in some of these seats,” she said. “But a lot of these front-liners are running on very progressive platforms, either as a member of the Progressive Caucus, or someone like Susan Wild who has run on Medicare for All since she came into Congress.”
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, the head of House Democrats’ campaign arm, said the caucus is working to construct a strategy to connect with voters and tout their policies in a way that resonates with voters as they look toward November.
“They need to know what to do with it, and we need to be fighting like hell every day for the things that matter in people’s lives,” Maloney said. “We need to talk like real people and pass what I call the Maloney brothers test — if you go home for Thanksgiving and your brothers think you sound like a jerk, you know what your grade-point average was?”
Historically, the party that holds control of Congress and the White House has lost seats. But, Maloney, who faces a potentially competitive race himself, said Democrats have fared better than expected with redistricting and have seen strong fundraising numbers this cycle. The New York Democrat added that despite facing attacks from Republicans — who have gone after Democrats on issues ranging from inflation and gas prices to the administration’s foreign policy decisions and are facing hurdles due to a slew of retirements — front-liners currently hold an $80 million cash advantage over their GOP opponents, which he feels will help them outperform political forecasters’ projections.
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“We came out of redistricting with a better map than the one which we currently hold the majority — no one predicted that, and it has real practical implications,” he said. “We have a much better front line and a much better offensive battlefield. And the Republicans are going to pay a real price for having, in my view, mishandled redistricting.”
During the remainder of the retreat, lawmakers are slated to partake in breakout sessions to discuss political strategy and an array of policy areas, in addition to hearings from a slew of senior administration officials, with President Joe Biden scheduled to address the caucus on Friday morning.
