Can you have a battle for a party if only one side is invited to the fight?

The Conservative Political Action Conference has long been a colorful if sometimes unreliable gauge of the state of the movement that powers the Republican Party. This year … not so much.

With the GOP divided about its future, the biggest gathering of conservatives in the early days of the Biden presidency gets underway in Orlando, Florida, on Friday as a tribute to all things Donald Trump -- up to and including rehashed and baseless complaints about the election.

Featured speakers include Donald Trump Jr., Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, Govs. Kristi Noem and Ron DeSantis, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Ambassador Richard Grenell and a wide range of pro-Trump House members and commentators. The former president himself, of course, speaks Sunday, in his first public speech since Jan. 20.

Not attending: Senators including Mitch McConnell, Ben Sasse or Mitt Romney; House members like Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger; former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley; former Vice President Mike Pence.

The theme of this year's CPAC is "America Uncanceled," though one speaker who had been booked was himself canceled for his extreme and anti-Semitic views.

But Trump and what he represents don't need to be "uncanceled" if they weren't canceled in the first place. It's hard to call it a comeback if the person and the movement in question never really left.

-ABC News Political Director Rick Klein

Biden spoke Thursday with King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia "to address the longstanding partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia," according to a readout from the White House.

The official readout of the call did not mention anything about the intelligence report on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi or the crown prince.

"Together they discussed regional security, including the renewed diplomatic efforts led by the United Nations and the United States to end the war in Yemen, and the U.S. commitment to help Saudi Arabia defend its territory as it faces attacks from Iranian-aligned groups.

"The President noted positively the recent release of several Saudi-American activists and Ms. Loujain al-Hathloul from custody, and affirmed the importance the United States places on universal human rights and the rule of law. The President told King Salman he would work to make the bilateral relationship as strong and transparent as possible. The two leaders affirmed the historic nature of the relationship and agreed to work together on mutual issues of concern and interest," the readout said.

At the end of his remarks for the National Governors Association winter meeting, Biden answered "yes" to a question about whether it "was a good call."

-ABC News' Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce and Molly Nagle

Biden joined a meeting of the National Governor's Association on Thursday afternoon. During the meeting, the group's chair, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., who has been under fire for nursing home deaths in his state and is facing fresh details concerning a harassment allegation, said the nation's governors support the president's COVID-19 relief bill.

Biden touted his plan, which has bipartisan support outside of the Senate, as helping all Americans. The president noted that 400 mayors have called him in support of the bill.

"It's clear that even when the immediate crisis passes, there’s going to be more work to be done to help constituents recover," Biden said. "And my administration will be there every step of the way with you, because when people in this country need help, they're not Democrats, Republicans, they're all Americans and people who need work."

Cuomo also said governors stand behind Biden's forthcoming infrastructure bill, which he has not yet released but touted on the campaign trail.

Biden delivered remarks announcing that the U.S. is "halfway" to his goal of administering 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days after he, Harris and Dr. Anthony Fauci, watched as four people received a COVID-19 vaccine.

"50 million shots in just 37 days since I’ve become president. That's weeks ahead of schedule, even with the setbacks we faced during the recent winter storms which devastated millions of Midwestern cities, towns, and also the same in the South," Biden said. "We're moving in the right direction, though, despite the mess we inherited from the previous administration."

Biden also worked to counter vaccine hesitancy, announcing that the administration is going to launch a "massive campaign" to educate Americans about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines.

"And there are folks who are hesitant to take the shot in the first place. We all know there is a history in this country of subjecting certain communities to terrible medical and scientific abuse," Biden said. "But if there is one message that needs to cut through, it's this: The vaccines are safe and effective"

Biden also pushed his COVID-19 relief bill, the American Rescue Act, and said he hopes Congress will pass it.

Despite the milestones that he touted, the president also offered a warning not to relax health measures.

"So I want to make something really very clear: this is not a time to relax," Biden said. "We must keep washing our hands, stay socially distanced, and for god's sake, wear a mask."

On the second day of Judge Merrick Garland's confirmation hearing, the nominee will not testify but five witnesses will testify virtually about his nomination and credentials. Those witnesses include Wade Henderson, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Josh Blackman, South College Texas of law professor, Andrea Tucker, a mother in D.C., whose twin children Garland tutors, Ken Starr, former solicitor general and U.S. circuit judge, and Donna Bucella, former director for Executive Office of U.S. attorneys.

Garland emerged virtually unscathed after Monday's hearing, earning praise from senators on both sides of the aisle as he fielded questions on domestic terrorism, racial justice issues and restoring independence to the Justice Department, among other topics.

Republican Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., did express concern over what they described as Garland's unwillingness to pledge that he will not fire special counsel John Durham without proper cause, a commitment they note former attorney general William Barr made during his confirmation hearing about then-special counsel Robert Mueller.

Garland repeatedly emphasized that because he had no knowledge of Durham's investigation he wanted to meet with him first before making a decision but said that because Durham hasn't yet been fired in the new administration he sees no reason to doubt that decision.

Other Republicans, like Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., appeared to grow frustrated over Garland's unwillingness to engage on questions about his views on immigration policy. Garland said he was not completely aware of Biden's immigration policy proposals so declined to wade into the issue.

-ABC News' Alexander Mallin