5 things to watch at this year's CPAC

Conservatives are gathering in National Harbor, Md., this week for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in what is poised to be a celebration for the political right following President Trump’s election victory in November.

The annual gathering of conservatives comes as the MAGA movement solidifies its place as the mainstream wing of the Republican Party after the party saw significant gains up and down the ballot last year.

Vice President Vance is slated to kick off the conference Thursday, with a number of other Trump administration officials and rising GOP stars set to follow.

Here are five things to watch for at CPAC 2025:

MAGA takes a victory lap

Prior to Trump’s ascendance in the Republican Party, CPAC was seen as a big tent gathering for conservatives and Republicans of all stripes. In recent years, however, CPAC has become somewhat of a niche gathering for Trump’s staunchest supporters.

But with Trump’s Electoral College and popular vote victories, along with Republicans securing majorities in the House and Senate, the MAGA brand has become the dominant wing of the Republican Party. This year’s CPAC will give Republicans and conservatives the chance to take a victory lap following their wins in November.

The gathering also gives Trump’s allies a chance to tout Trump’s achievements just one month into his administration. The rapid cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the administration are likely to be top of mind, along with Trump’s numerous executive orders. A number of Congress members will be present and could tout the importance of Congress's role in passing Trump’s agenda.

Rising GOP stars get their moment in the spotlight

While Trump is likely to take center stage at CPAC, the gathering offers an opportunity for rising stars within the party to speak directly with the conservative grassroots.

Fresh off his first trip overseas as vice president, Vance will address the crowd of conservatives on Thursday morning. Trump made headlines last week when he told Fox News he did not see Vance as his automatic successor and declined to endorse him ahead of the 2028 presidential race. Vance’s speech will present an opportunity to further ingratiate himself with the conservative grassroots and tout his status as a younger, standard-bearer of the MAGA movement.

Other Republicans — like Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who is expected to launch a gubernatorial bid in Florida — are slated to attend, along with his wife, Erika Donalds, a conservative education activist. Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who has expressed interest in running for Senate in Florida is also expected to attend.

CPAC is expected to announce more of this year’s speakers in the coming days.

Cultural issues set to take center stage

Trump leaned into cultural issues heavily during his presidential campaign and has continued to do so during his first month in office. Earlier this month, the president signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s and girls’ sports, an issue that conservatives long pushed.

Additionally, the president signed an executive order ending government support for the use of paper straws, installed himself as chair of the Kennedy Center after firing its leadership and has blocked The Associated Press from access to certain spaces and events due to the outlet’s editorial guidance on Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

There will likely be a focus on these cultural issues along with others at this year’s CPAC, which has historically drawn a large concentration of cultural conservative activists.

Are there any divisions apparent?

This year’s CPAC will no doubt be a show of Republican unity, but it comes as there are some cracks emerging among Republicans and conservatives on key issues.

U.S. support for Ukraine in its war against Russia has stoked a divide among Republicans for the past three years. Last week, Trump announced he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Trump administration officials, including national security adviser Mike Waltz, who is expected to attend CPAC, met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia earlier this week. Ukrainian officials were notably not in attendance. Trump appeared to blame Ukrainian leaders for starting the war with Russia while speaking with reporters at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “a dictator” in a Truth Social post.

Trump’s recent rhetoric on the war in Ukraine could put him at odds with Republicans who have expressed support for Ukraine throughout the war. Republican Sens. John Kennedy (La.) and Roger Wicker (Miss.) have criticized Putin this week, with Wicker telling CNN: “Putin is a war criminal and should be in jail for the rest of his life. If not executed.”

Kennedy told the network Putin is an “evil man.”

Trump’s Republican allies so far are not attacking him directly for his strategy on ending the war, but one of his staunchest allies in the Senate, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), struck a unifying tone on Wednesday.

Graham said in a Wednesday post on the social platform X that he blames Putin “above all others” for the war in Ukraine but called Trump “Ukraine’s best hope to end this war honorably and justly.”

“If you’re looking for American politicians to blame, Biden and Obama are at the top of my list. They were pathetically weak in handling Putin and failed to protect Ukraine from invasion,” Graham said.

Foreign policy and the war in Ukraine are likely to come up during CPAC, but it’s unclear how speakers will address the issue to the largely pro-America First audience.

Anti-Trump Republican counterprogramming

One of the more public GOP fissures to take place over CPAC will be through counterprogramming to the event. The Principles First Summit is set to take place at the same time as CPAC in nearby Washington.

The summit has billed itself as “a three-day grassroots summit on conserving America’s liberal tradition & the path to a principled future for our country.” The event will feature prominent speakers from the anti-Trump faction of the GOP, including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), along with a number of Democrats. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) originally was slated to appear but had to pull out due to a “scheduling conflict,” her office confirmed to The Hill.

While Christie and Kinzinger are notable speakers, they do not represent the majority of the Republican Party, given Trump has solidified his grip on the GOP. Additionally, the Republican Party’s most influential leaders will be flocking to CPAC, including Vance and Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley.

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