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Analysis: 6 big questions at CPAC 2026 | CNN Politics

PUBLISHED Mar 26, 2026, 5:00 AM ET | CNN Politics

Conservatives from across the country are gathering for the 2026 edition of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), one of the biggest gatherings of right-wing figures and influencers.

Normally held in the Washington, DC, area, the conference is this year set for Grapevine, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Below are some of the biggest questions looming over this year’s edition.

What is the right’s mood right now?

CPAC 2025 mostly served as a moment of triumph for President Donald Trump.

Four years after his political career seemed finished following the January 6 Capitol riot, there was Trump riding high just a month into his second presidential term, pursuing perhaps the most brazen political agenda in recent White House history.

Elon Musk was on stage with a toy chainsaw, vowing to hack away at the federal workforce (metaphorically). And after a few years of the GOP at least flirting with a less MAGA course, it looked like the party was inexorably red-pilled now.

But a lot can happen in a year, it turns out.

Trump’s poll numbers have taken a nosedive, imperiling the GOP’s hopes of holding both the House and Senate in the 2026 midterms — and Trump’s agenda along with them. And while his base is still very much in his corner, Trump has pursued a number of causes, such as the Iran war, that are clearly testing that unity. We’ll occasionally see lawmakers stand up to him in ways that were previously unthinkable.

One of the big questions is how much the attendees at CPAC choose to reckon with all that — to discuss how to right the ship and how to orient the party moving forward — versus trying to avoid difficult issues.

Does the Iran war divide show up?

We’re still trying to figure out how the conservative movement feels about the war. CPAC should give us some indication of how real the divides might be on the right wing.

While the conventional wisdom is that MAGA is united behind the war, the picture of Trump’s base is more nuanced than that.

Self-proclaimed MAGA supporters overwhelmingly say they support the war, but as many as 1 in 5 Republicans and 1 in 4 Trump 2024 voters don’t. Many of the rest are only lukewarm on the war. (Trump’s own vice president and director of national intelligence have conspicuously avoided full endorsements, and another Trump administration official recently resigned over it.) Plenty of prominent conservative influencers are explicitly against it.

A person holds a sign depicting Reza Pahlavi, during the Conservative Political Action Conference on Wednesday.

Callaghan O’Hare/Reuters

The list of speakers includes exiled Iranian opposition leader and Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. It includes prominent supporters of the war like Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and former United Nations Ambassador Mark Wallace, who heads a group called United Against Nuclear Iran. But it also features skeptics of the war such as former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.

At least so far, the speakers list doesn’t include some of the most prominent anti-Iran war influencers such as Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly – the types who might really try to marshal opposition to Trump’s war.

But it would also be telling if the gathering just avoids huge shows of support for the war.

How do Rubio and Vance stack up two years before the 2028 primaries?

Related to the above issue is how the party starts to orient itself ahead of 2028.

Since the start of Trump’s second term, Vice President JD Vance has been seen as Trump’s heir apparent, and he’s got the 2028 poll numbers to back that up.

But the Iran war and Trump’s increasing interventionist streak have pushed Vance somewhat to the back seat. And all the while, the fortunes of Trump’s more hawkish Secretary of State Marco Rubio have appeared to be on the rise.

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio depart the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in January.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images/File

We shouldn’t expect the conservative movement to start picking sides two years before the first 2028 primaries. But gatherings like this — along with the CPAC straw poll — can send signals about the most passionate portions of the base.

If CPAC warms to Rubio, who hasn’t generally been terribly MAGA-friendly, that could signal more of a fight for the future of the movement than we might have otherwise anticipated.

(Neither man is thus far slated to attend.)

Does the right make a statement about the Texas Senate race?

It’s been more than three weeks since Trump said he would intervene in the Texas GOP Senate runoff between Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton, in hopes of ending the brutal contest. GOP leaders backing Cornyn see him as more electable in a key race against Democratic nominee state Rep. James Talarico.

But the politics of that were never easy, given that MAGA is much more on board with Paxton, and Trump still hasn’t followed through on his promise.

The venue this weekend in the Dallas-Fort Worth area should push this very important choice for the GOP base back to the forefront.

Paxton is due to speak. In fact, he’s got a prominent slot as the featured speaker at CPAC’s Ronald Reagan Dinner on Friday night.

CPAC also invited Cornyn to speak, but Cornyn has declined, citing the fact that CPAC has endorsed Paxton.

Senate candidate and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to supporters at a primary election night watch party in Dallas, on March 3.

Sergio Flores/Getty Images

If CPAC turns into a rallying moment for Paxton, that could make it even more difficult for Senate GOP leaders to get a Trump endorsement of Cornyn. And Paxton winning the May 26 runoff is clearly what Democrats would prefer, given his history of personal and official scandals.

In recent years, the right has demonstrated a knack for nominating problematic Senate candidates who imperil — and often lose — very winnable races. But the party is flirting with yet another major risk.

Are the Epstein files a focus?

The Iran war is a much bigger focus right now, but don’t sleep on the Epstein files.

Much of the GOP base appears to have heeded Trump’s call for everyone to move on, but this is the kind of crowd where this issue once loomed very large.

There are also some key speakers with proximity to the issue. Those include Bannon, who had a cozy relationship with Epstein in his later years but has avoided a significant backlash on the right thus far.

They also include Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who has been the public face of the DOJ’s release of the files, which hasn’t satisfied many Americans. And they include House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, whose committee has pursued subpoenas related to the Epstein files.

Is CPAC a big deal anymore?

There are reasons to believe this event’s influence might be on the wane.

The list of speakers doesn’t exactly read like a who’s who of the conservative right. And the agenda doesn’t include Trump, Vance or many other high-profile Trump administration officials like Rubio.

(Those who are slated to appear include Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, border czar Tom Homan and Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz.)

Assuming Trump doesn’t add a last-minute appearance, it would be the first time he has skipped the event since he pulled out of it in 2016, citing a desire to stay on the campaign trail.

But that was at a time when CPAC was considerably less Trumpy. Since then, the event has served as an opportunity for him to rally the base and show much of it was in his corner.

以色列空袭加沙帐篷营地 造成一死七伤 | 联合早报

发布/2026年3月26日 18:49

以色列在与伊朗和黎巴嫩真主党激战之际仍持续轰炸加沙地带。加沙民防机构说，以军周三（3月25日）空袭加沙中部代尔巴拉赫地区的一处帐篷营地，造成一人死亡、七人受伤。一位居民说，爆炸发生在距离她栖身的帐篷几百米的地方，但弹片落在他们身上，造成多人受伤。自加沙战争在2023年爆发以来，数十万加沙人一直居住在临时帐篷中。虽然以色列和哈马斯在去年10月达成停火协议，但加沙卫生部称，自停火开始以来，至少有689名加沙人在袭击中丧命。（法新社）

以色列空袭加沙帐篷营地 造成一死七伤 | 联合早报

发布时间：2026年3月26日 18:49 来源：联合早报

以色列在与伊朗和黎巴嫩真主党激战之际仍持续轰炸加沙地带。加沙民防机构说，以军周三（3月25日）空袭加沙中部代尔巴拉赫地区的一处帐篷营地，造成一人死亡、七人受伤。

一位居民说，爆炸发生在距离她栖身的帐篷几百米的地方，但弹片落在他们身上，造成多人受伤。

自加沙战争在2023年爆发以来，数十万加沙人一直居住在临时帐篷中。虽然以色列和哈马斯在去年10月达成停火协议，但加沙卫生部称，自停火开始以来，至少有689名加沙人在袭击中丧命。（法新社）

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Democrat accused of stealing FEMA funds, set to face rare ethics “trial”

March 26, 2026 / 6:00 AM EDT / CBS News

Washington— The House Ethics Committee on Thursday will hold a rare public “trial” for Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, who is accused of stealing $5 million in federal pandemic funds and using some of the money to boost her congressional campaign.

Republicans are already trying to expel Cherfilus-McCormick from Congress over the allegations. Based on the outcome of the hearing, the Ethics Committee could recommend expulsion, which could prompt Democrats to support removing her.

In January, the bipartisan committee released the findings of its lengthy investigation into the alleged campaign finance scheme. The report shed new light on the Florida Democrat’s efforts to bolster her congressional campaign after two unsuccessful bids in 2018 and 2020.

Cherfilus-McCormick was elected to Congress in 2022 in a special election in South Florida’s 20th Congressional District, replacing Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings, who died the previous year. She was indicted in November on federal charges and has pleaded not guilty.

Thursday’s hearing, scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., will be conducted by an adjudicatory subcommittee, composed of four Republicans and four Democrats, who will determine whether the allegations “have been proved by clear and convincing evidence” and “make findings of fact.” The members of the subcommittee were not part of the investigation into Cherfilus-McCormick.

According to House rules, adjudicatory subcommittee hearings are held in public, unless the panel votes otherwise. They can include opening statements, sworn witness testimony and the presentation of other evidence.

On Wednesday, the committee said it would begin Thursday’s hearing by reconsidering Cherfilus-McCormick’s request to hold the hearing behind closed doors.

In a statement to CBS News, Cherfilus-McCormick said she was “deeply disappointed” the committee moved forward with the hearing. Cherfilus-McCormick said she was innocent and was “limited” in what she could address because of the federal case.

“I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight and challenge these inaccuracies, when I am legally able to do so,” she said.

What the federal indictment says

The federal charges against Cherfilus-McCormick are related to a massive overpayment to a company, Trinity Healthcare Services, owned by the congresswoman’s family. The company had a FEMA-funded contract to register people for COVID vaccines.

In July 2021, a Florida state agency mistakenly deposited the $5 million overpayment in the company’s bank account, according to the indictment. But instead of returning the overpayment, Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother moved the funds to several other bank accounts “to disguise its source,” the Justice Department said.

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 22, 2026. Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

In the subsequent months, more than $1.1 million was transferred to accounts connected to her congressional campaign, the indictment said. Cherfilus-McCormick and a campaign staffer allegedly funneled some of the funds to friends and relatives, who donated it back to her campaign disguised as their own personal contributions. Such contributions, known as straw donations, are illegal.

Prosecutors alleged the congresswoman bought herself a 3.14-carat yellow diamond ring. She is also accused of falsely inflating business expenses and charitable contributions to reduce her tax liability.

Cherfilus-McCormick is charged with 15 counts, including theft of government funds, money laundering, making and receiving straw donor contributions, and aiding and assisting the preparation of a false and fraudulent statement on a tax return.

She faces a maximum of 53 years in prison if convicted of all the charges.

“This is an unjust, baseless, sham indictment — and I am innocent,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a Nov. 20 statement.

What the House Ethics Committee report says

In a 59-page report released in January, the House Ethics Committee concluded there was “substantial reason to believe” Cherfilus-McCormick violated multiple federal laws and House rules. The committee said it reviewed over 33,000 documents, interviewed 28 witnesses and issued 59 subpoenas as part of its lengthy investigation into the congresswoman’s alleged misconduct.

The investigation found “substantial evidence of conduct consistent with the allegations in the indictment, as well as more extensive misconduct,” according to the report.

The report says Cherfilus-McCormick’s company received nearly $5.8 million in overpaid funds throughout 2021. The largest was the $5 million overpayment in July 2021 referenced in the indictment.

Investigators laid out a pattern of inaccurate and incomplete campaign finance reports across several election cycles, including improper contributions falsely reported as personal loans, acceptance of improper contributions and inflated cash-on-hand numbers.

The report alleged the timing of “nearly every substantial transaction” to the campaign closely aligned with transfers from Cherfilus-McCormick’s health care company. Investigators said that at least $3.6 million of the FEMA-linked funds made its way to Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign “for at least some period of time.” They also said they provided Trinity and Cherfilus-McCormick “with numerous chances to explain whether those were funds respondent had a legal right to, but neither party provided any such explanation.”

In addition to bolstering her congressional campaign, Cherfilus-McCormick also allegedly spent the overpaid funds on luxury personal items, including jewelry from Tiffany & Co., a Tesla, designer clothing, high-end hotels and a cruise, according to the report.

Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign is also accused of accepting more than $800,000 from a Haitian oil company in 2022, after she was first elected to Congress. The contributions were funneled to the campaign through shell companies set up by the congresswoman’s closest advisers and husband, according to the report, which said the funds “constitute an impermissible corporate contribution.”

Investigators also detailed Cherfilus-McCormick’s alleged special favors for a friend and campaign fundraiser who had made federal funding requests for community projects.

The Florida Democrat initially cooperated with the Ethics Committee’s investigation, but eventually invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination after the committee issued a subpoena for documents she had not provided and for her testimony.

In response to the committee’s findings, a lawyer for Cherfilus-McCormick said the congresswoman “disputes and refutes the allegations and report.”

The committee denied Cherfilus-McCormick’s request to postpone all proceedings until her criminal case is resolved.

Effort to expel Cherfilus-McCormick from Congress

Republican Rep. Greg Steube of Florida is leading an effort to expel Cherfilus-McCormick from Congress over the allegations.

After Cherfilus-McCormick was indicted in November, Steube initially said he would seek to reprimand her through a censure resolution, which is largely symbolic because it lacks any tangible consequences. Steube quickly changed course and said he would pursue expulsion, arguing she should be “swiftly removed from the House before she can inflict any more harm on Congress, her district, and the State of Florida.”

Steube threatened to force a vote on her expulsion if Cherfilus-McCormick refused to resign, but he has held off as the Ethics Committee process plays out.

Expelling a member of the House requires a two-thirds vote.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said in a November statement that Cherfilus-McCormick is “entitled to her day in court and the presumption of innocence.”

Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, who leads the House Democratic Caucus, said Wednesday that he’s waiting for the outcome of the Ethics Committee’s hearing and the criminal trial to come to any conclusions about Cherfilus-McCormick’s future in the House.

“After the conclusion of those, we will see what happens and we’ll have conversations with our colleagues on what it looks like,” he said. “But I’m not going to prejudge what it looks like ahead of time.”

Exclusive: Kamala Harris to appear at Democratic events through the South in April

2026-03-26T11:01:55.124Z / CNN

As speculation continues about what Kamala Harris will do next, she has at least the first part of an answer: a swing through four Southern state Democratic Party events in April.

And conversations about similar stops through the summer and fall are already underway, a person familiar with her plans told CNN.

But first, she’ll appear at fundraisers for the North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia state parties the week of April 13, then follow that with a keynote address at the Arkansas Democrats’ annual Fisher Shackelford Dinner in Little Rock on April 25. That’s in addition to her appearance last Friday at the National Women’s Law Center annual gala in Washington and another scheduled speech at the end of April.

Invitations to many of these events will start going out in the coming days and come as even other prospective 2028 Democratic candidates are beginning to ask around for intel on her plans. Though she has not made any decision on a repeat run, her geographic choices for this swing are reminiscent of what her 2020 campaign team used to call its “SEC strategy,” hoping to win lots of delegates among the heavily Black primary electorates to counter what they expected would be weaker showings in other early voting states.

In the end, she dropped out over a month before the first contest that year.

[Related article Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, on September 29, 2025, during a book tour following the release of her new book “107 Days,” recounting her presidential campaign against President Donald Trump. Mario Tama/Getty Images Kamala Harris is extending her book tour in 2026 and hitting politically important territory 2 min read]

The former vice president and 2024 replacement Democratic nominee is coming to the end of a six-month national tour to promote her memoir of the campaign, which has put her in front of dozens of friendly audiences. As the book was published last September — shortly after Harris passed on entering the California governor’s race — she said she wanted to take a break from being in government, while hoping to boost Democrats in this year’s midterms.

Harris has already recorded ads for the Democratic National Committee and for Virginia Democrats’ ballot proposition, scheduled for April 21. And though she endorsed Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the final days of the Texas Senate Democratic race, she has been in touch with the winner of that primary, James Talarico, as well as other recent primary winners Juliana Stratton in Illinois and Scott Colom in Mississippi.

[Related article Kamala Harris speaks during at the 20th anniversary gala for Emerge America at the Palace hotel in San Francisco. Pool Harris accuses Trump of abandoning American ideals in first major speech since leaving office 6 min read]

Harris also endorsed Helena Moreno and Zohran Mamdani in last year’s New Orleans and New York mayoral races, and former aide Dan Koh in his primary for Congress in Massachusetts.

In late February, appearing in Cleveland at a fundraiser for Rep. Emilia Sykes, the congresswoman asked, “What have you been doing lately?”

“Listening,” Harris replied.

称伊朗“恳求”达成协议 特朗普警告再不认真就太迟了

2026年3月26日 19:02 / 联合早报

美国总统特朗普星期四（3月26日）称，伊朗正在请求美方达成协议，但他指伊朗谈判代表非常不同寻常，而且“古怪”。 （法新社）

巴基斯坦称“美伊正在进行间接会谈”，美国总统特朗普称伊朗“恳求”达成协议。

路透社报道，特朗普星期四（3月26日）在社媒发文称，伊朗“军事上遭到重创”，因此正在请求美方达成协议，但他指伊朗谈判代表非常不同寻常，而且“古怪”。

他驳斥伊朗方面公开宣称“只是在审查华盛顿提议”的说法。

他也警告：“伊朗谈判代表最好尽快认真起来，否则就太晚了。因为一旦发生这种情况，就再也没有回头路了，而且后果不堪设想。”

另外，特朗普也抨击北约称：“北约国家对伊朗这个如今军事实力已被摧毁的疯狂国家，完全没有提供任何帮助。美国不需要北约的任何东西。”

称伊朗“恳求”达成协议 特朗普警告再不认真就太迟了

发布/2026年3月26日 19:02

美国总统特朗普星期四（3月26日）称，伊朗正在请求美方达成协议，但他指伊朗谈判代表非常不同寻常，而且“古怪”。 （法新社）

巴基斯坦称“美伊正在进行间接会谈”，美国总统特朗普称伊朗“恳求”达成协议。

路透社报道，特朗普星期四（3月26日）在社媒发文称，伊朗“军事上遭到重创”，因此正在请求美方达成协议，但他指伊朗谈判代表非常不同寻常，而且“古怪”。

他驳斥伊朗方面公开宣称“只是在审查华盛顿提议”的说法。

他也警告：“伊朗谈判代表最好尽快认真起来，否则就太晚了。因为一旦发生这种情况，就再也没有回头路了，而且后果不堪设想。”

另外，特朗普也抨击北约称：“北约国家对伊朗这个如今军事实力已被摧毁的疯狂国家，完全没有提供任何帮助。美国不需要北约的任何东西。”

中国代表：将继续坚定支持巴勒斯坦人民正义事业 | 联合早报

发布/2026年3月26日 12:25

中国代表星期二（3月24日）在联合国人权理事会上说，加沙人道主义危机空前恶化，并强调中国将继续坚定支持巴勒斯坦人民正义事业。

据中国央视新闻报道，中国常驻联合国日内瓦办事处和瑞士其他国际组织代表贾桂德，当天出席了人权理事会第会议就巴勒斯坦及其他阿拉伯被占领土人权状况举行的一般性辩论，并阐述中国立场。

贾桂德说，当前中东局势持续动荡，巴勒斯坦人民的苦难仍在加剧。加沙人道主义危机空前恶化，人权遭受粗暴侵犯。

他指以色列推出吞并82％约旦河西岸的计划，持续扩张定居点、纵容定居者暴力，还对黎巴嫩、叙利亚发动袭击，严重违反国际法和人权理事会决议。

贾桂德强调，人道物资准入必须恢复，加沙持久停火必须实现，定居点活动必须得到遏制，两国方案必须落实，以色列应立即从黎巴嫩和叙利亚领土撤出。中国将继续坚定支持巴勒斯坦人民正义事业，为实现中东全面、公正、持久和平不懈努力。

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男子本地转机携漏税烟 掏100元人民币图行贿

罗妙婷/新明日报
发布/2026年3月26日 15:34

男子来新加坡转机，被发现带着两条漏税香烟，当局人员告知他不能带时，他突然掏出100元人民币（约18.5新元）企图贿赂，星期三（3月25日）被判坐牢四周和罚款3400元。

被告张怀珠（音译，52岁），日前承认三项控状，包括企图贿赂，以及抵触关税法令的控状。

调查揭露，被告和三位朋友于今年3月10日抵达新加坡，要转机到巴布亚新几内亚。

他们被移民与关卡局人员拦下进行检查，当局人员从被告的行李箱中搜出两条私烟和两瓶酒。当时，一名马来族执法人员以华语说“不可以”，示意被告香烟不能带进新加坡。

被告见状，比手画脚并希望执法人员通融，但对方不加理会，继续检查被告的背包。

接着，执法人员再把被告叫来，看着他检查背包，怎料被告却从钱包掏出100元人民币企图贿赂执法人员。

执法人员立即后退摇头，轻声说了一句“贿赂”，但被告仍走近且坚持要把钱偷偷塞给他，让他收下。执法人员于是举手示意“停止”。事发经过都被执法人员身上佩戴的摄像头拍下。

执法人员把此事告知上司，对方把被告带到办公室调查，被告也随之承认行贿，当场被逮捕。

被告求情称自己第一次来新加坡，并不知道新加坡的法律如此严厉，若知道就不会行贿。

他说，自己正要去巴布亚新几内亚工作，不久前网上认识了也在那里工作的朋友，因此想带香烟送给他。

被告指，他并没有要在新加坡工作或久留，恳求法官从轻发落。法官最终判他坐牢四周以及罚款3400元。

伊朗驻日大使：美国不能单方面强制实行和平计划 | 联合早报

发布时间：2026年3月26日 15:32 | 来源：联合早报

美国白宫说，特朗普已准备好“释放地狱之火”图为3月25日，在德黑兰市中心，人们挥舞着国旗，手持伊朗最高领袖穆杰塔巴的画像，游行支持伊朗革命卫队。 （法新社）

伊朗驻日本大使西达特（Peiman Seadat）说，由于美国和伊朗继续就和平谈判争执不休，冲突仍未见明确的结束迹象，美国单方面将和平计划强加于德黑兰是不可接受的。

彭博社报道，西达特星期四（3月26日）在东京与日本执政党成员会晤后说道：“他不能提出一个和平计划，然后说，‘我要强加于你们’。”

此言显然指的是美国总统特朗普。他补充道：“不能单方面强加。这是不可接受的。”

尽管德黑兰公开拒绝了美国的提议，并就结束这场给中东及全球市场带来巨大破坏的冲突提出新条件，但白宫坚称与伊朗的和平谈判仍在进行中。

西达特说：“我认为，侵略者不可能单方面决定或计划什么。

“并不是美国人决定任何事，而是伊朗。”