relief package including checks for individuals, funding for state and local governments, an extension of an employment benefits and a hike in the federal minimum wage. it was along party lines. measure now heads to the senate. the house is back for legislative business on monday when the senate returns, they will continue work on cabinet nominees for the secretary of education and commerce. as of tuesday, they may take up the covid relief package they would need a simple majority to pass. it is will the minimum wage is not allowed under the rules good watch live on c-span two in the house on c-span. we are back with dave weigle, the national political reporter for the washington post and author of a newsletter.

he is with us to tell us what is going on at cpac. good morning. guest: it's good to talk to you. host: what is going on at cpac right now? what are you watching for right now? guest: there are changes to the schedule. marco rubio is not on the schedule and more. donald trump will close on sunday. that is one event based around. the conference, a lot of reporting has reflected it's about continuing donald trump's leadership role in the republican party, his agenda. it's much more than individual things that democrats are doing. there is no discussion of the covid bill moving through congress. in washington, that is the story of the day.

host: what do you see so far at cpac that is different from previous years? we know they are in florida this year. it is normally here in d.c.. what is different about the conference? guest: that is a big difference. there is a convention center similar to watch d.c.. it is warm and pleasant. events are being held outside. it has shrunk down quite a bit. the attendance is a little bit less than half in the big years. this will be about 4000 people. the media presence is much smaller. i am the only person here for the washington post.

the scale is different. in terms of the agenda, it has carried on as if donald trump won the election. i can think of things they would be celebrating that are not happening. in terms of the focus, there is no rethinking of what we need to do, none of that. it's very much about the republican party being on the right track posttrial. -- post trump. host: why is it in orlando? it was in washington dc for a long time. why are they in orlando? guest: the build is the same. i'm in the main conference room. because of covid. until november, they were wondering if they would be able to have the event in maryland. it's at a hotel just outside washington.

when they realized florida was going to have the ability to hold a large indoor conference, they moved here. the actual reason is covid. if the pandemic was over two months ago, we would be in d.c.. a lot of the themes of the conference, florida is open for business. it's been about the lockdown has lasted too long. the states like florida that opened things up faster than others are doing it right. that's been a big theme of the conference. host: let me remind our viewers that you can take part in this conversation. we are going to open up our regular lines for this conversation about cpac. republicans, you can call in at (202) 748-8001.

democrats, your line is (202) 748-8000. independent voters, you can call in at (202) 748-8002. keep in mind it can always text us at (202) 748-8003. we are always reading on social media on twitter and on facebook. you already mentioned this. president will speak tomorrow. what are you hearing the thrust of his speeches going to be? -- speech is going to be. guest: he tended to speak for more than 90 minutes. they said the speech will go from topic to topic. they tended to be explanations of what he had achieved, sometimes with falsehoods. there would be aggression's.

-- digressions. the thinking is he is going to defend his administration. he will make a case against the biden administration. we don't know what direction he will go in. they won the election. for the time being, donald trump in the face of republicans is keeping them from rebranding. they are happy with that. we will say after the speech. he is in a weak position to do so. he left office very unpopular. his approval rating was in the mid 30's. the time outside of this room, people are about how everything was great under him and

everything is terrible now, outside cpac that might not be popular. host: let me remind our viewers that you can see former president trump give his speech sunday at 3:40 p.m. on c-span, c-span.org, and on the free c-span radio. one of the republicans we know is not it cpac. that is mike pence. what is the story there. guest: he is not making any political speeches at the moment. joe biden after the white house in 2017 was doing campaigning for democratic candidates. mike pence is following the tradition of a former vice president not jumping right back

into politics. i would expect to see him return at some point. if he were speaking at this convention, there are people at this who are frustrated that he did not find some way to overturn the election results. i'm not sure he would have gotten a good reception. marco rubio was supposed to be here. the question hanging over a lot of things, publicans who did not vote to overturn the election are not as welcome here. josh hawley got a lot of applause for mentioning it. a speech in which he was defended the trump legacy would be more popular. host: if viewers want to see the speakers who are actually talking today, you can join our live coverage of cpac at 1:35

p.m. eastern. that will begin our live coverage. you will be able to see what's going on and see some of the people you see right there on your screen speaking today. mike pompeo, kevin mccarthy, the governor of north dakota. you will see them live today. those are the one we know are showing up today. let's take some calls from our viewers. let's start with morris, calling from ohio on the independent line. good morning. he seems to have dropped off. renaud is calling from madison, wisconsin on the democratic line. caller: i want to ask the reporter why the republican party seems to have a major

fracture in it, a significant number don't think donald trump should be the party leader. look at the seven people in congress that voted to impeach him, look at the senators that voted to impeach him. considering the elections are close. why isn't anyone discussing donald trump being destroying the republican party and making sure they will be a minority? i will take the answer off-line. host: go ahead. guest: i think it's being covered. one way republicans are united. early this morning, every house republican voted against the stimulus package. that's what they did in 2009.

with trump and his role in the party, it's complicated. most republicans supported. they support a third party. not many republicans really want trump to go away. on the agenda, there is real division. whether it's the party driving with this branding on immigration, that is being debated in the party. smb who has can severed -- covered conservatives after they lost to barack obama, it is more contemplative. some the conservatives -- jeff

flake voted for joe biden. a number of legislators voted for joe biden. they can't be divided if you're the longer part of the party. host: one of the things we do have to acknowledge, at amy: -- host: at least eight that will vote and they will have a straw for those. who are you watching besides former president,? guest: i mentioned rubio is not speaking at the moment. josh hawley spoke yesterday.

the former secretary of state and kristi noem. i went caution there is not a presidential primary for two more years. you don't have the same rundown. there is a straw poll for members of the congress. it will be interesting to watch.

trump will win it. i am curious who else gets any balance and who will make a big play and spend a lot of money to bring people in, even though it is very unscientific. host: one thing are -- we are seeing is conservatives attacking republicans. donald trump, jr. spoke at cpac. >> can be seamless liz cheney's poll numbers?

the one thing i will say is i am sure she has a lot of bipartisan support, because if it is one thing she and joe biden want to do is bound the middle east. everything else is a disaster. everything out -- else is just the kind of policies that put the republican party in a position where they needed a donald trump. seriously, liz cheney enter politics are only slightly less popular than her father is at equivalent. -- at a quail hunt. what? fact checkers, fact checkers, please have edits. fact check true. right? like i said, liz cheney hates

donald trump and his policies because her family has a long history of friendly fire, but she also hates them because she is tied to an establishment that has done nothing but fail us time and time again. you heard the rhetoric and now you have seen that change very quickly, because if there is one thing the republican party has been really good at over the past few decades is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. they caved to every special interest, orbit america and bowed to the radical left that hates their guts, their values, and their freedoms. lincoln project liz, as i like to call her, is the leader of that movement. if we want to go back to losing, if we want to go back to and america last policy, we should

be following that. i don't and i don't think anyone in this room does either. host: is that speech we just heard from donald trump, jr. typical of what they said at cpac this year? guest: it was not that different. it is not new at cpac, when he was vice president, cheney came but he has not come in years. the point that donald trump, jr. was making is that even though

he used others asians -- used authorizations to bomb, but the attitude that donald trump was the president and democrats will bring us into another war, it has been willed into existence. it is popular on the left. conservatives see advantages for certain reasons and disagree with the biden administration. it will be separated. heard you stuff -- the stuff you heard from donald trump, jr. are some new arguments. we will find new voters. we are the piece party.

it has been true very recently. host: one of our social media followers has a question for you. is there any reference to mike pence and or january 6, referring to what happened at the capitol. and are you worried about your own health reporting on an event that has such a large indoor gathering in a community that tends to avoid covid-19 safety recommendations? guest: people have been asked in the hallway. if someone is doing a quick tv hit, you can take it off but my policy is not to. on the first part of the question --

host: have you seen much reference to mike pence and or what happened on washington, d.c. in january 6? guest: you have seen a few of them. jeff hawley did not go before and say anything about january six and the capital attacks. -- capitol attack. the media, including myself, we covered and tried to demonize conservatives and an overall reaction with people being angry and people thinking the election was stolen from them. at a conference last night that was not cpac, they had a number

of defenses and videos. it is more complicated. it is more of a -- that we face. host: let's take a call from ruth from with constant -- from wisconsin. caller: can you tell us whether cpac is going to be discussing the issue of white supremacy? are they going to try to ignore that topic or is it likely there will be some discussion about that issue? guest: there are two parts to that peer cpac has -- there are

two parts to that. cpac has policies. this year, there are people at the conference who who babble in that -- you dabble in that behavior. it is explaining the idea of white supremacy to suppress speech on the part of the democrats. the attitude is >> we are going to live coverage of cpac. we will hear from former secretary of state mike