What it is: CPAC, billed as “the largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world,” is an annual event hosted by the American Conservative Union. It takes place from March 1-4 in National Harbor, Md. this year.
The group seeks to “define conservatism” and influence elections through a variety of means, including endorsements, independent expenditures and congressional and state legislative member ratings.
The speakers: Here are some highlights from the list of announced speakers as of Thursday:
All three notable official Republican presidential candidates will speak: Former President Trump, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Potential candidate and former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will also speak.
Kari Lake, who ran for governor of Arizona last year and has challenged the results showing her defeat, is the featured speaker at the Ronald Reagan Dinner – a CPAC “premier event.” (More on that from The Hill’s Max Greenwood here.) Unsuccessful Arizona attorney general GOP nominee Abe Hamadeh is also on the CPAC speaker list.
Conference attendees will hear from several of the House members who voted repeatedly against Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for Speaker last month, including House Freedom Caucus chair Scott Perry (Pa.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Byron Donalds (Fla.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.) and Ralph Norman (S.C.) – the latter of whom endorsed Haley last week.
A few other notables: Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.), House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), prominent House committee chairs James Comer (Ky.) and Jim Jordan (Ohio), and former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), who campaigned for several Republican candidates ahead of the midterms after switching her affiliation to independent.
CPAC throwback: Here are some headlines from The Hill’s coverage of last year’s event:
