Last week, I traveled to the belly of—if not the beast, certainly the news cycle—with a trip to Washington, D.C. And one theme jumped out at me loud and clear: Under the new administration, Silicon Valley is keeping its distance from Washington.

Lobbyists once courted by startups in regulatory hotbeds like fintech say they’re getting fewer requests for meetings. VCs who once saw an opportunity to lobby on issues from the environment to taxes are staying in Menlo Park. And big-name tech CEOs who usually breeze through town for big events like the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner are sitting them out.