HERSHEY, Pa. — At what has been dubbed the “Sweet Place on Earth,” Republicans in both the House and Senate gathered for a sweet retreat to craft their strategies on issues that have caused bitter disagreement.

The gathering of GOP lawmakers was the first of its kind to occur in 10 years and centered around the theme “America’s new Congress.” Over a span of two days, lawmakers heard from former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, pollster David Winston, and political consultants Frank Luntz and Alex Castellanos. Now in his post-”Late Night” career, comedian Jay Leno performed a salty routine Wednesday night.

“Our goal here, really, is to set the stage to do some good things for the American people that will create jobs, that will grow the economy and will strengthen the middle class in this country,” says @SenJohnThune.

“Our goal here, really, is to set the stage to do some good things for the American people that will create jobs, that will grow the economy and will strengthen the middle class in this country,” Sen. John Thune of South Dakota told reporters yesterday.

In between sessions, members of House and Senate leadership held briefings with reporters and spoke about immigration reform, the Affordable Care Act and the potential for tax reform.  Lawmakers returned to Washington, D.C. this afternoon.

But with the smell of chocolate hanging the air and in between trips to the lodge’s Sweet Memories gift shop to peruse rows and rows of chocolate, Republicans formed their game plan for tackling immigration and Obamacare.

Lawmakers had boarded buses to make the trip to Hershey just hours after the House passed a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security through September and roll back President Obama’s immigration policies.

Though the legislation ultimately won approval from House members, some Republicans called for future debate over immigration reform.

“We’ve been elected by the public to address real issues,” Rep. Jeff Denham of California told reporters. “This is a real issue that we’ve got to come to terms with, and it’s time for us to put together a plan, not just principles.”

Denham was one of 26 Republicans who voted against an amendment to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.

“I think by adding the deferred action amendment in here, it goes back to a situation that we’ve got kids that came here through no fault of their own—that we need to have a full discussion and debate on that—now are going to be put on top of the list for ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to deport, if this were to become law,” Denham said. “I think that sends the wrong message to the American public on what our overall reform ideas are.”

Republicans discussed immigration during the retreat’s afternoon session, where Denham promised to be vocal on the issue.

A Republican aide attending the session said GOP lawmakers discussion the need to secure the country’s borders and reward immigrants who have gone through the system legally.

When speaking to reporters yesterday, Thune reiterated the 60 votes needed to break a Democratic filibuster in the Senate and advance the House-passed bill, and expressed skepticism that the bill would pass in its current form.

“Ultimately, we recognize the important role the Department of Homeland Security plans in this country and the fact that it needs to be resourced in order to do that,” he said.

In addition to immigration, Obamacare proved the be a hot topic for Republicans at the retreat.

With a GOP-controlled Congress, Republicans have said they plan to offer their own reforms to the health care law. However, much of the strategy for tackling Obamacare focused on the upcoming Supreme Court case, King v. Burwell, a Republican aide attending the session said.

The case challenges whether the subsidies offered through Obamacare are available for consumers purchasing health insurance through both the federal exchange, HealthCare.gov, and state exchanges. Obamacare opponents contend the law explicitly states that only Americans purchasing insurance through state exchanges are eligible for subsidies.

The Obama administration, however, believes the case will be dismissed.

The aide said conversation centered “moving quickly to show the country Republicans have a patient-centered response” to the case.

GOP lawmakers are also anxious to move forward with tax reform, and they contend that though the president’s priorities may limit their ability to reform the tax code for both individuals and corporations, it is an area where Congress and the president can work together.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky told reporters yesterday that this period of divided government is a good time to address tax reform and cited the work former President Ronald Reagan and Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neill did on the issue nearly three decades ago.

Thune, however, said tax reform depends on the willingness of the White House to engage with Congress.

“I would really like to be able to mark bills up, but I think it’s going to depend entirely on whether the White House wants to engage and really lean into it and really put their shoulder into it,” he said.

“Because so far, what we’ve seen is the president has expressed an interest rhetorically in the issue of tax reform,” Thune said. “But when push comes to shove, really engaging with Congress, we have not seen that.”