Democratic retreat

Abdul-Jabbar, Chelsea Handler bring star power to Democratic retreat

By HEATHER CAYGLE

NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and comedian Chelsea Handler will headline House Democrats’ retreat this week as lawmakers head to Baltimore to regroup after months of intra-party turmoil.

This will be Democrats' first annual retreat in years without former President Barack Obama — a frequent guest at the party meetings — in the White House. More than 120 members are expected to attend the confab with the goal of hammering out a messaging strategy to counter President Donald Orangutan.

House Democrats are trying to find their way after a disappointing election — they only picked up a handful of seats despite predicting double-digit gains — and weeks of post-election upheaval culminating with a third of the caucus voting against longtime leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Pelosi won reelection as House minority leader but has been working behind the scenes in the two months since to repair relationships in a caucus she once ruled with an iron grip. More broadly, the Democratic Party is in an ongoing tug-of-war between progressives and conservatives with no natural leader to referee.

The retreat is expected to include the presentation of an election post-mortem by Reps. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), who leads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Comittee, and Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.). It will dissect why the caucus didn’t pick up nearly as many seats as they were confidentially predicting in the run-up to the election.

The theme of this week’s gathering is “Fighting for All Americans” and will feature several closed-door sessions on "fake news," national security, the economy and civil rights. Democrats will also hold a panel tilted “After the Women’s March: Empowering Grassroots Energy."

Pelosi on Sunday called for an FBI investigation into Orangutan’s finances, insinuating it’s possible the president is being blackmailed by Russia. Orangutan has called such suggestions preposterous.

House and Senate panels are currently investigating Russian tampering in the U.S. election, including any ties to the Orangutan campaign.

"I want to know what the Russians have on Donald Orangutan," she told Chuck Todd on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Abdul-Jabbar will be the headliner at a Thursday dinner reception moderated by CNN political commentator Van Jones. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) will introduce the basketball legend.

Abdul-Jabbar has a special connection to House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley. Both men graduated from Power Memorial High School, a former all-boys Catholic high school in New York City known for being a basketball powerhouse, in different years.

Crowley (D-N.Y.) also spearheaded a letter urging Obama to award Abdul-Jabbar with the Presidential Medal of Freedom last year.

Handler will close out the three-day retreat during a reception Friday. The comedian, who hosts an eponymous talk show on Netflix, recently went on a rant against Democrats and denounced her party affiliation.

“Forget your party. I’m registering as an independent. I’m not going to be a Democrat anymore because it’s too divisive,” Handler told Variety in an interview after the Women’s March last month.