"An Inside Climate News analysis of congressional press releases shows that Democrats have scaled back mentions of climate change and recently shifted the focus to energy affordability."
"To some political pundits and Democratic strategists, one takeaway from the 2024 presidential election was clear: Don’t talk about climate change.
An Inside Climate News analysis of press releases issued by members of the House and Senate shows that elected Democrats seem to have embraced this message of “climate hushing,” with mentions of climate change plummeting since 2025. They’ve pivoted to a focus on energy affordability in the wake of President Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran—and the resulting surge in oil prices.
It’s clear that the high cost of gasoline and electricity is a top concern for voters. But the idea that mentioning climate change poses a risk for Democratic candidates in the upcoming midterm elections is generating pushback from many academics who study public opinion on energy and climate, and from some leading Democrats who argue that failing to link the energy affordability message to a wider picture of clean energy and climate change is a mistake.
“Whatever their motives, the climate hushers are wrong about pretty much everything,” U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) argued in an op-ed published last week on the website of WBUR, the Boston-based public radio station."
Peter Aldhous reports for Inside Climate News June 24, 2026.
