Conservatives gather for conference day 2 of CPAC: Live updates

Jim Jordan says that Republicans want to investigate investigative reporter Catherine Herridge’s departure from CBS News.

Herridge was included in company-wide lay-offs of 800 employees last week.

A report in The Hill on Thursday claimed that CBS had seized her personal belongings including her “files, computers and records, including information on privileged sources”.

Herridge has previously been involved in legal action over a refusal to name sources. According to The Hill she was pursuing stories connected to the Hur Report on Joe Biden’s mental capacity, the Hunter Biden laptop, and the wider allegations against the Biden family.

Neither Herridge nor CBS made any public comment in the report, but the network has since said in a statement: “Catherine’s personal belongings were delivered to her home one week ago, and we are prepared to pack up the rest of her files immediately on her behalf—with her representative present as she requested. We are awaiting a response from Catherine and/or her representative to do so. We have respected her request to not go through the files, and out of our concern for confidential sources, the office she occupied has remained secure since her departure.”

Gaetz says he has problems with the Ethics Committee in the House of Representatives, “which is really odd to me because I’m the one screaming loudest about actual ethics. Members of Congress should have a lifetime ban on becoming lobbyists or registered foreign agents”

“You could have been on the ride up with Republican Michael Guest on gambling stuff. You could have made millions like Nancy Pelosi, on Nvidia or maybe you’ll get a big return on a Raytheon merger with armed services member, Senator Markwayne Mullin.”

He continues: “I’m here to fight for you. it’s the people’s house after all. Last time I checked, the people hate Congress. We have a lower approval rating than the IRS, so I don’t give a rip. If they blew me on the floor if they hate me and they’re corrupt little souls, and they can even try to expel me on bullshit, if they want, but this is a movement that the unity party cannot kill.”

Gaetz: “We punted Kevin McCarthy, who authorised $115bn to Ukraine that we now see sloshing around the money laundering capitals of the world and he shouldn’t have any foreign aid to any other country without corresponding cuts to our own bloated federal budget.

“If you want to send aid to Israel, fine … defund the United Nations I want the UN to be zeroed on our budget the US should be out of the UN and the UN should be out of the US.

“I would remind everyone, especially the journalists in the back that Ukraine’s Zelensky imprisoned an American journalist who then died in prison … Not only that, but Zelensky supports outlawing an entire religion, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – he just cancelled Ukraine’s presidential elections.”

Gaetz: “Truth is, we can’t save the nation with the current Republican team. We have to get tougher, smarter, and we need newer, bolder voices in the United States Congress.

“So if you’re out there campaigning and running as a Paul Ryan, or Kevin McCarthy Republican, my message to you is this they don’t work here anymore.

“CNN is accusing me of wiping out institutional knowledge. But if you had knowledge of some of my coworkers and how they made you want to put them in an institution the next phase of our plan is to replace the droves of retiring members with America First patriots.

“Republican primary voters must do their part and the battlespace will be full of enemies. Mike Pence just announced that he’s building a $20 million fund to combat the cause of the embrace of populism.

“It’s it’s no surprise to me … He was never particularly popular.”

Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Arizona Republican senator John McCain, has eviscerated Kari Lake online – after the Senate Republican candidate criticised her father and then tried unsuccessfully to walk it back.

“NO PEACE, B****!” Ms McCain fired at Ms Lake amid the highly public spat on X.

Ms McCain is taking no prisoners as Joe Sommerlad reports:

Republicans who want an electable Trump alternative continue to hold out hope…