The press is being kept in the dark as President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats attend a retreat in Baltimore to outline their agenda as the minority party in the new Congress.
The meeting is set to include topics such as tuition for community college students, the housing market, paid sick leave, corporate tax reform and infrastructure spending — and the president's legislative proposals on those topics,
The Hill is reporting.
In addition, Obama also plans to debrief fellow Democrats on the fallout from the terrorist attacks in Paris last week.
These issues are "priorities that he has both for our economy and for keeping Americans safe around the globe," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
In previous years, Democrats have typically allowed at least some media. This is the first time the meeting will occur without any media present at all.
In addition, the White House said to expect that very little information about the retreat will be released.
"Some of that's because the president wants to spend some time talking about the State of the Union address," Earnest explained about the president's speech he will give on Tuesday.
Republican House and Senate lawmakers are also attending a strategic retreat in Hersey, Pennsylvania, which began Wednesday night.
While the media isn't allowed to attend the events and sessions of the GOP retreat, they will be allowed to interview lawmakers individually,
Townhall.com is reporting.
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