Fall Meeting Begins For Dems
While federal workers face uncertainty and paycheck delays thanks to the Schumer Shutdown, top Democrats have their sights set not on Washington—but on wine country.
On the heels of a shutdown they loudly decried just hours earlier on the Sunday talk show circuit, several leading Senate Democrats are now packing their bags for a luxury retreat at the $1,300-a-night Hotel Yountville in California’s exclusive Napa Valley. The event, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, is being hosted by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) under the auspices of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).
“You have been critical in the past of the tactic of choosing to shutdown the government. You were in 2018, you were back in 2013 when it was a discussion over health care…Aren’t you doing today exactly what you were criticizing then?”
CHRIS MURPHY: Uhh, this is an “emergency” pic.twitter.com/7NLZdE6o6R
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 12, 2025
Back on October 3, Gillibrand claimed the retreat was still planned, but hinted that the situation might change if the shutdown continued. Well, the shutdown continued—and so did the retreat. Punchbowl News confirmed on October 10 that Gillibrand was still attending, even as fellow co-host Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) tried to backpedal. “I’m not hosting anything,” Alsobrooks told The Washington Examiner. “When we have a shutdown, we’re not going to be in Napa Valley.” Except, of course, some of them are.
The lavish agenda includes a wine tour and private dinner at the Staglin Family Vineyards, a high-dollar donor hotspot whose owners have contributed over $130,000 to Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign. That’s no small change—and it places the Staglins among Harris’ top 15 individual contributors. In Napa, political power meets vintage prestige.
NEWS Democrats are now heading to a luxury resort in Napa Valley in the middle of the shutdown for a fundraiser, plus a wine tour. Hotel Yountville rooms go for up to $1,100 a night. Part of the itinerary also includes a wine-tour and dinner at the high-end Staglin Family… pic.twitter.com/RFRH5njzbf
— Elizabeth MacDonald (@LizMacDonaldFOX) October 12, 2025
Also reportedly attending is Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), who is campaigning for the open Senate seat in Michigan. Though she markets herself as the hard-working “daughter of the Midwest,” this West Coast appearance suggests she’s well on her way to becoming a favorite of the national Democratic donor class—and, perhaps, of the DSCC itself. According to Politico, Stevens’ invite marks one of the most visible signs yet of establishment alignment in her heated primary battle.
A “crypto roundtable” is also said to be on the sidelines of the event, adding a modern twist to the retreat’s otherwise classic Napa indulgences.
California Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla have remained silent on whether they’ll attend the gathering—odd, given the event’s location in their home state and its proximity to their donor base. Then again, with political optics this delicate, silence might be the only safe play.
