Taking the main stage this past hour to discuss the future of his department. And Lauren Blanchard is live at cpacing in national harbor, jan, with a wrapup of todays events. Hey there, lauren. Reporter hi, julie. We are just moments from getting those straw poll results, and over the last few hours the Polling Group that has been in charge of that has been tallying some nearly 1500 responses to see what exactly is important to these conservatives and how they think the president is doing. He has had a lot of support here from really most everyone that ive been talking with and sitting next to and in line with this week. I think itll be a mixed bag, but i expect it to be a positive result. Hes keeping his promises, and im hoping that the results of the polls reflect that so far. The most important question was it asked whether we think trump is changing the republican party, and i agreed with this, because i think weve seen a big change in platform as far as trump versus traditional republicans. Reporter heres an idea of what participants weighed in on. Which of president Trumps Campaign promises they want to see and follow through with, if they feel the president is realigning the the conservative movement, how they feel about cutting off funding for sanctuary cities, what they think of the president s executive order temporarily halting people from seven majoritymiss him countries, and one muslim countries, and do they approve or disapprove of the job donald trump is doing as president. One of the final headliners, the new epa administrator scott pruitt speaking just a minute ago, promising more power to the states. Rule of law matters, but let me tell you this, what really matters a lot is federalism. Were going to once again [applause] were going to once again Pay Attention to the states across this country. Reporter now, julie, although cpac is nearly over, people have been slowly filing back into this area likely for those highly anticipated straw poll results. Julie all right, lauren, thank you very much. Kelly . Kelly all right, julie, thank you. We have a fox news alert as we await the results of the straw poll at cpac, we look ahead to tuesday night when President Trump will speak before a joint session of congress for the first time. Mr. Trump giving a possible preview of his address during his speech at cpac yesterday. Were translating these meetings into action. One by one, were checking off the promises we made to the people of the United States. One by one. A lot of promises. [applause] Kelly Kristin fisher is live at the white house with more details on this. Kristin, what are you hearing about what the president will say in his fist address to first address to congress in. Reporter well, the white house has said it will likely be more optimistic than what we heard during his inaugural address, and n. , a tweet that President Trump posted this morning may give us a preview of what we can expect to hear on tuesday night. He said that, quote, great optimism for future of u. S. Business and jobs with the dow having an 11th Straight Record close. Big tax and regulation cuts coming. Now, President Trump will also likely stress the early achievements of his Administration Just like he did yesterday at cpac where he talked about the nomination of judge gorsuch to the supreme court, the executive orders that hes signed on Regulatory Reform and the next version of his immigration order which hes expected to sign possibly on wednesday. And, of course, he could continue to rail on the media. Listen to what he said about them just yesterday. And i want you all to know that we are fighting the fake news. Its fake, phony, fake. [cheers and applause] a few days ago i called the fake news the enemy of the people, and they are. They are the enemy of the people. [cheers and applause] because they have no sources, they just make em up when there are none. Reporter so itll be very interesting to see if President Trump continues to attack the media in his first speech to congress or if he decides to keep it a bit more positive and focusedded on policy, kelly. Kelly kristin, speaking of pushing back on the press, the white house is now disputing a new report that appeared in the Washington Post. Can you tell us about it . Yeah. This report claimed that the Trump Administration had reached out to members of the Intelligence Community and members of congress to try to encourage them to speak out in the press and counter all of these reports about members of the trump campaigns alleged ties to russian intelligence officials. But a Senior Administration official says not true, that it was actually the other way around, that these members of congress were the ones that had reached out to the white house to say, hey, were already speaking to the press to set the record straight, so the white house then pointed them in the direction of other reporters who had been asking similar questions. So just to be very clear here, the white house says that it did ask fbi officials to speak to the press to try to clarify these reports, but that it did not instigate asking members of congress to do the same. So an important distinction. Thats what the white house is saying today to try to counter this report in the Washington Post which it claims is false and inaccurate, kelly. Kelly all right. Kristin fisher from the white house, thank you. Julie. Julie a fox news alert now, the Democratic NationalCommittee Just wrapping up one round of voting in atlanta as Party Leaders try to elect a new National Party chairman who will help rebuild the party after a bruising loss in the november president ial election. Jonathan serrie joins us live from atlanta with more, and, jonathan, how close is the dnc to picking a chairman . Reporter in theory, very close. Were now in the process of counting ballots from round two, and just before the balloting began, all of the trailing candidates dropped out of the race. So now the field has narrowed down just to the two frontrunners, only two candidates. They include tom perez, he served as labor secretary under president obama and enjoys the support of the Democratic Party establishment. Listen. A united Democratic Party is not only our best hope, it is Donald TrumpsWorst Nightmare reporter but perez faces stiff competition from minnesota congressman Keith Ellison. He was an early Bernie Sanders supporter ands has strong support among the partys liberal base. We got to win elections. Were in this mess because weve lost not one election, but a thousand elections. And were going to get out of it when we win elections, and thats what were going to do, you guys. Reporter and as we speak, theyre counting ballots in round two which we expect unless, in theory there could be a tie, we expect will be the final round of balloting, and it does take a while. Julie . Julie what are the biggest hurdles democrats face moving forward . Reporter yeah. Theyre really trying to strike a balancer. On the one hand, they really want to seize on a strong antitrump sentiment among many of their members, especially some of their younger members. But strategists say they need to do this in a way that gets people not just to turn out on the streets in protest, but also show up at the polls and not just during president ial elections, but the midterms as well as state and local elections. Weve got to do what the republicans did in 2010. Lets give em credit. That was the birth of the tea party, and the tea party came out of opposition for thenpresident barack obama. And what weve got to do is weve got to channel that energy and that resistance that were seeing across the country, and then weve got to recruit candidates. Reporter and while appealing to their younger and more liberal base, democrats are also trying to win back the support of working americans, a more moderate, sometimes even conservative group that largely went in support of donald trump in the last election. Julie . Julie jonathan serrie, thank you so much. Kelly. Kelly all right. So the federal government plans to start awarding contracts for a border wall by mid april. Companies are now preparing to submit offers with their designs and costs, this as President Trump has said the cost of the wall would be about 12 billion. Will carr is live in our west coast bureau with more details on this. Will . Reporter hey there, kelly. One of President Trumps biggest Campaign Promises is a step closer to construction this weekend. Fox news has confirmed the administration is so liciting ideas for the border wall from contractors with initial design due in the coming weeks. Theres just over 650 miles of fencing on the border which runs almost 2,000 miles, and at cpac on friday President Trump emphasized thats about to change. Were going to build a wall, dont worry about it. Were building the wall. Were building the wall. In fact, its going to start soon, way ahead of schedule. [cheers and applause] way ahead of schedule. Reporter the administration does have some political hurdles though, a tribe in arizona which has 75 miles of its reservation on the border has said its adamantly against the wall and prefers using technology for security. A wall built on the border, we believe, is not the answer to securing america. Reporter in new mexico 22 miles of stateowned land on the border have become a political battle line. Democratic state lawmakers there are pushing legislation that would prohibit the federal government from acquiring that land. And in california liberal politicians have said they may use state and federal environmental laws to prevent construction. Then theres the price tag. President trump has said itll cost about 12 billion, there are some estimates it could be more than 20 billion. He continues to say that mexico will pay for the wall, although the mexican government, kelly, says thats not going to happen. Kelly. Ing. Kelly and that part of the debate goes on, but well see what happens. Will carr, thank you very much. Reporter report thats righ. Julie lawmakers want the president s ties to russia and Vladimir Putin thoroughly investigated, and one republican in particular is making a special demand when it comes to the probe. Find out what thats all about next. Plus, President Trump giving a fiery speech at cpac just days ahead of his very first address to a joint session of congress. So what issues will he address in that upcoming speech . Heres Vice President pence with a possible clue. President donald trump is leading the fight to repeal and replace obamacare [cheers and applause] let me assure you. Americas obamacare nightmare is about to end. You dont let anything keep you sidelined. Thats why you drink ensure. With 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. For the strength and energy to get back to doing. What you love. Ensure. Always be you. My insurance rates are but dad, youve got. Allstate. With accident forgiveness they guarantee your rates wont go up just because of an accident. Smart kid. Indeed. Its good to be in, good hands. Ive been blind since birth. I go through periods where its hard to sleep at night, and stay awake during the day. Learn about non24 by calling 8448442424. Or visit my24info. Com. By simply enjoying it. Boost® simply complete. Its intelligent nutrition made with only 9 ingredients, plus 25 vitamins and minerals and 10 grams of protein. And look where life can take you boost®. Be up for it. ™ kelly welcome back. Time now for a quick check of the the headlines. A republican congressman calling for a special prosecutor to investigate russias alleged involvement in the u. S. President ial election. California congressman darrell issa says it would be improper for attorney general Jeff Sessions to heed that investigation. To lead that investigation. Jcpenney planning to close up to 140 stores and offer 6,000 workers voluntary early retirement, thats 15 of its current locations. Officials say the move would allow the company to effectively compete against online retailers. Police in malaysia conducting a sweep of a terminal at the kuala lumpur be airport for possible traces for a toxic chemical after investigators found that kim jongnam was killed by a nerve agent known as bx. Hes the halfbrother of north Korean Leader kim jong un. Julie well, President Trump making his very first major speech to a joint session of Congress Next week after firing up conservative supporters at cpac. Trump delivering a wideranging speech hitting on cam page promises Like FightingCampaign PromisesLike Fighting illegal immigration and repealing and replacing obamacare. He then launched into an attack on a familiar foe, the media. Its not your agenda and the countrys agenda, its their own agenda. They have a professional obligation as members of the press to report honestly. But as you saw throughout the entire campaign and even now, the fake news doesnt tell the truth. Doesnt tell the truth. The core conviction of our movement is that we are a nation that put and will put its own citizens first. [cheers and applause] julie so what exactly can we expect to hear on tuesday . Joining me now is james homan, National Political correspondence for the Washington Post and also author of the daily 202. Thank you very much for talking to us. So, you know, a lot has changed. I mean, donald trump wasnt necessarily always welcome at cpac. But yesterday he kind of struck a different tone, a lot of cheers in the crowd. What changed . He got a very, very good response. A lot has changed. Donald trumps president now. A year ago he skipped cpac at the last minute, deciding to campaign instead. Ted cruz went when it was just the two of them fighting for the republican nomination. Cruz attacked him, said the fact he didnt show up meant he wasnt a real conservative. He got booed the year before last for saying send in Ground Troops julie weve got to interrupt you real quick because we have breaking news. The dnc chair, that vote coming in. Lets await those results, go to this live. So that everyone can see them. [inaudible conversations] you would i would like to invite the candidates for the office of chair to return to the room as well. And as soon as ive been informed that they are here, i will announce the results. [inaudible conversations] julie okay. So Donna Braziles waiting for the candidates to resomewhere the room reenter the room, and then they announce the results. By the way, as far as nominating a dnc chair, i dont remember the last time we paid so close attention to a dnc chair election, first of all. Seven candidates are on the ballot to be the next dnc chair. To qualify, the candidates actually only need 20 signatures from the dnc. And right now Donna Brazile is waiting for those candidates to reenter the room. Going through the candidates now. Lets listen. Ms. Green, major [inaudible] ms. Green and please reenter the room. [cheers and applause] thank you. Thank you. Mayor pete. [applause] wheres mayor pete . [cheers and applause] hello, pete. You know, for good measure, i want jamie and ray buckley, please also come up if youre in the house. Jamie and ray. [applause] make a little room. Thank you. [applause] everyones here. Sam, sam. Where is sam . Sam and i have been facebook back there. Well, ladies and gentlemen, is sam, sam was in the staff room. Well, sam is in the house somewhere. Let me give you the final results. The threshold for victory was 218 votes, 435 members were total in voting including proxies. The results are 235 for mr. Perez and 200 for mr. Ellison. [cheers and applause] order. It is my great honor [applause] it is, it is now my honor, it is my honor now to present the gavel to the next chair of the Democratic National committee to mr. Tom perez. Mr. Perez, congratulations. [cheers and applause] [inaudible conversations] i hear a motion, a motion by mr. Saunders, mr. Saunders no, no. Mr. Applebaum . Theres a motion now by mr. Buckley. Mr. Buckley, well hear from mr. Buckley. Order, please. Go ahead. Thank you, madam chair. More all those who ran for this office, for all those who were involved in this campaign, now is the time for us to unite. So i move that we suspend the rules and cast one ballot for secretary tom perez as the next chair of the Democratic National committee. [cheers and applause] is there a second . Mr. Applebaum . Democrats, sisters and brothers, im stuart applebaum, dnc member from new york and the executive Vice President of the 1. 3 million member united food and commercial workers union, aflcia. This has been a great process with amazing candidates. Weve listened to each other, weve learned from each other. Now we must be moving forward together. We must leave this meeting united. [applause] our country, our democracy demands it and im proud to second the motion to make this election by acclimation. Thank you. [cheers and applause] its been moved and seconded by acclimation. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed . All right. Ladies and gentlemen, its my great honor to present the next chair of the <