Republicans gather in Maryland as CPAC convention in full swing – live

• 2024 contender Nikki Haley is Friday’s highest-profile speaker
• Sign up to receive First Thing – our daily briefing by email

Good morning, US politics blog readers. We’re coming to you today from Oxon Hill, Maryland, a place not everyone has heard of but which is currently host to an event many of you have – the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. Sebastian Gorka, a former White House adviser to Donald Trump who just took the stage, encapsulated its purpose well in his greeting to the audience: “this is the hardest of the hardcore Maga, right?” The king of Maga himself is not expected at the conference until tomorrow, and today’s highest profile speaker is Nikki Haley, a fellow contender for the Republican presidential nomination who is due at 12 pm. Also speaking are conservative firebrands like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Donald Trump Jr and Steve Bannon.

There is a world outside CPAC. Here’s what’s happening in it:

Joe Biden is at the White House, where he’ll award the Medal of Honor to retired army colonel Paris Davis for actions during the Vietnam War, and then welcome German chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Kamala Harris is heading to San Francisco for a fundraiser and roundtable with small businesses.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters at 12.45pm.