Cheney, Kinzinger to Address Anti-Trump GOP Event Same Weekend Trump Speaks at CPAC

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While the Republican base and MAGA-world fixtures will be meeting in Orlando, Florida at the annual Conservative Political Action Committee gathering, anti-Trump Republicans will hold their own meeting in Washington, D.C.

The two-day conference, titled “Principles First: The Summit,” will take place on Feb 26-27 at the National Press Club.

CBS’ Robert Costa was the first to report on the confab, having “obtained a four-page draft of the schedule.”

Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) are both scheduled to address the event, which will clash with Donald Trump’s CPAC speech Saturday night. Cheney will be in Wyoming during the event but will address the summit virtually with a pre-recorded video.

Heath Mayo, the GOP lawyer who founded Principles First for America, confirmed the schedule to Costa and noted the event will “certainly be counterprogramming of CPAC.”

“We want to come together in a visual show of support for people who have taken stands for ideas when it hasn’t been comfortable,” Mayo said to CBS. “You don’t see those folks, yet, in rooms that are energized. But I think the energy is there. We’ll see how many folks show up.”

Mayo added, “I believe there is a lane here for 2024. The party is completely stuck in a rut talking about if the last election is legitimate and if Liz Cheney, [Maryland Governor Larry] Hogan, or someone else is compelling and wants to run, I think a lot of people would listen.”