High-profile conservatives are set to meet in Washington, D.C., for the Conservative Political Action Conference this week in what has been billed as the largest gathering of activists on the Right and often a Republican presidential candidate cattle call.
The conference is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday and run throughout the rest of the week, ending with a keynote speech from former President Donald Trump on Saturday evening. The event will feature several prominent conservatives, from GOP presidential candidates to high-profile lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
CPAC 2023: FIVE THINGS TO WATCH AS CONSERVATIVE CONFERENCE RETURNS TO DC
Here are five of the most highly anticipated speakers slated to appear on day one of the conference:
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is scheduled to open the conference alongside CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp, with the two addressing supporters at 10:15 a.m.
Jordan has long been considered a leading conservative in the House, especially after being appointed as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee once Republicans took control of the lower chamber in January. In that position, Jordan has vowed to investigate the Biden administration on a slate of issues, ranging from the southern border to Hunter Biden’s laptop.
Jordan has particularly pushed for investigations into the president’s son, criticizing the Justice Department for failing to appoint a special counsel to look into the matter.
“To date, you have declined to appoint a special counsel in this matter, despite appointing special counsels in other investigations,” Jordan wrote in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland earlier this week. “Your refusal to appoint a special counsel here is conspicuous in this context.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is also expected to address CPAC attendees on Thursday afternoon.
Cruz has made headlines in recent weeks for his accusations that several federal agencies such as the FBI and DOJ have become overtly partisan. The Texas senator got into a heated exchange with Garland during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, accusing the DOJ chief of failing to protect conservative Supreme Court justices after they voted to overturn Roe v. Wade last summer.
Cruz accused Garland of “sitting on [his] hands” while protesters gathered at the homes of Supreme Court justices who voted in favor of overturning Roe, which ended nationwide access to abortion and returned the question of the procedure’s legality back to the states. The Texas senator specifically pointed to the pro-abortion rights group Ruth Sent Us, which leaked the home addresses of the justices online.
Sen. JD Vance (R-OH)
Ohio Sen. JD Vance is also slated to appear at the conference, addressing supporters after his high-profile win in the midterm elections last year.
Vance has been thrust into the spotlight in recent weeks after the fiery crash of a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials on Feb. 3 that caused 38 train cars to derail from the tracks. The incident prompted Vance to partner with liberal Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to draft bipartisan legislation that seeks to avoid future derailments.
The group of senators introduced the Railway Safety Act of 2023 earlier this week, proposing new rail safety measures as well as financial penalties if those requirements are not met. The bill is cosponsored by a handful of Republicans and Democrats, marking a rare moment of bipartisanship as the two parties have sparred over who is responsible for the derailment.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-SC)
Sen. Rick Scott (R-SC) is scheduled to give a speech to CPAC attendees later in the afternoon.
Scott has garnered headlines in recent weeks after repeatedly clashing with President Joe Biden over solutions to the debt ceiling crisis, with Biden accusing Republicans of wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits. Biden’s criticisms stem from an 12-point agenda Scott unveiled last year that proposed sunsetting all federal laws after five years unless Congress votes to extend them.
Scott responded by releasing an attack ad in February accuses Biden of cutting roughly $280 billion from Medicare through the Inflation Reduction Act — setting the stage for what is likely to become a flashpoint issue in the 2024 elections.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Helping to close out day one of the conference, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to give a speech at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
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Pompeo’s presence underscores the underlying tensions at the conference as the former Trump official has come out against former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who announced her presidential bid last month and is also scheduled to speak at CPAC on Friday.
Pompeo hit out against Haley before she launched her White House bid, accusing the former U.N. ambassador of leaving the Trump administration “too early” when there was still work to be done. Pompeo is reportedly considering a run for president in 2024, but he has not yet made a formal announcement.
