The retreat was the caucus’s first major in-person event in three years. It was intended to be something of a reset for the party heading into what is expected to be a difficult midterm election season. Much of the party’s legislative agenda has been hobbled by dissension between moderates and progressives, complicated by the tenuousness of the Democrats’ hold on the Senate.
On Wednesday, House Democrats found themselves having to cut $15.6 billion in planned funding for President Biden’s pandemic response efforts to secure passage of an essential spending bill.
The House passed the measure, with $1.5 trillion in total spending, late Wednesday night. Remote voting was allowed, so it was unclear which of members were physically present for the vote. Many Democrats then departed for the Philadelphia retreat.
Mr. Biden addressed the gathering in person on Friday. Asked at White House news conference on Monday why he was masked when entering an event earlier in the day, the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said Mr. Biden sometimes does so if event guidelines require it, but that she would check. She added that the president had received a negative virus test result on Sunday.
A White House spokesman, Kevin Munoz, said that none of the representatives at the retreat were considered close contacts of the president, and that nothing had changed about his testing cadence.