Trump set to speak at CPAC

President Trump is set to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, the organization announced Wednesday.

Trump’s appearance was largely expected at the multiday GOP conference, which runs from Thursday to Saturday in Maryland, particularly because Vice President Vance is scheduled to deliver remarks Thursday and Trump has spoken at CPAC in past years.

While the conference was once seen as a Republican event that saw GOP activists and candidate hopefuls alike exchange ideas and deliver remarks, in recent years the event has largely become a celebration of Trump — so much so that the event has sometimes been referred to as “TPAC.”

This year’s CPAC is likely to serve as something of a victory lap for the president and like-minded Republicans after decisively winning all seven battleground states last November and making inroads with key voting blocs.

Still, CPAC will also see a number of influential speakers this week in addition to Trump and Vance, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump border czar Tom Homan.

Some of the names notably not featured on this year’s list of speakers include Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

The event is set to take place at the same time as the Principles First summit in Washington, which largely includes vocal Trump critics and a handful of Democrats.